Family

Autumn, 2008

Tonks reached up and rapped the brass knocker—a lion's head, now—on the front door of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

The door whisked open, and a very wrinkly, very white-haired Kreacher swept them a low bow. "Auror Lupin. Mister Lupin. Master Teddy." He ushered them inside and snapped his fingers, which sent their cloaks sailing along the corridor and into the little ground-floor anteroom. "The guests are in the ballroom," he wheezed. "Right this way."

Tonks could already have guessed where the party was, given the hubbub. She smoothed an entirely ineffectual hand over Teddy's lemon-yellow hair, tucked her arm through Remus's, and ventured forth.

The ballroom was, of course, full to bursting. Every single Weasley seemed to have turned up (except Charlie, who was busy in Romania hatching dragon eggs), and those between the ages of three and nine were pelting through the room, dodging grown-ups with the lightning reflexes of Seekers in the making. Minerva was there, looking a bit bemused as Arthur, flushed with enthusiasm, waved a Muggle egg-beater at her. Bill looked on, grinning, with his arm around Fleur, who held tiny Louis. Neville was in one corner trying to find a spot for an enormous Frittleflower, which was ringing its little bells merrily and sending wafts of delicate scent into the air—Luna was "helping," by waving her wand at something invisible, and Hannah and Rolf were laughing so hard they had to hold each other up.

"Teddy!" Victoire flashed past, blonde hair flying. "We're playing tag. I'm It!"

Small James, hard on her heels, skidded to a stop for a second. "Wotcher, Tonks! Hi, Remus! Teddy, come on!" He darted away again, and Teddy let out a whoop and joined the fray.

"Hello, Tonks," said Percy. "Remus." He gestured expansively. "Do make yourselves at home."

Tonks had to bite back a snigger, as she and Remus spent far more time at Grimmauld Place than Percy did, but Audrey elbowed her husband smartly in the ribs and turned her warm smile on them. "It's good to see you both."

A flashbulb popped right in their faces. Remus blinked, laughing. "Thad, I swear, you have a bigger camera every time I see you."

"Hello, Remus! Hi, Tonks." Angelina's father came out from under the camera cloth. "Wait 'til you see the photos! So lifelike, you can practically hear them talking."

Victoire sprinted past again, with Teddy right behind her, trailing James and Dominique in their wake. Al, Rose, Fred, and Little Molly were sitting on a cushy sofa with Nana Molly, who had a picture book spread out on her lap, but the little ones were watching the game of tag and looking wistful. Remus pulled out his wand, and with a swish, he presented each toddler with a brightly-coloured bubble. They began to giggle, swatting at the bubbles, which danced a little way away but soon came bobbing back.

"Thank you, dear," said Molly. "The little ones do get restless when the big children carry on so."

Remus leaned down to kiss her cheek, and then turned to watch as the game of tag roared past again. "Whenever Minerva sees this lot, she must thank her lucky stars a dozen times over that she'll be retiring soon! Imagine what Hogwarts will be like in a few more years."

"I hope you weren't looking for a quiet evening," said Molly, laughing.

"Never," said Remus, his whole face alight. "Not in this house!"

"Have you seen them yet?" Molly asked.

"Not yet," said Tonks. "We just got here."

"They're in the drawing room." Molly caught small Fred right before he rolled off the sofa. "It's a little quieter in there!"

"We'll go through, then," said Remus. "I'll be back in a minute to help you keep the troops in order."

"That's sweet of you," said Molly, with a certain gleam in her eye that Tonks couldn't quite interpret. "But take your time—have a nice visit."

After exchanging a few words with Neville and Hannah and Luna and Rolf, and duly admiring the splendid Frittleflower, they passed through a wide doorway into the drawing room. A restful hush fell at once—there must have been a Silencing Spell on the door between the rooms. A cheery fire crackled in the fireplace, and soft lamps lit one corner of the room, where Harry and Ginny sat on a sofa, Ron and Hermione sat in armchairs pulled close, and George and Angelina stood leaning over Ginny.

"Hello, Remus! Tonks!" Harry popped up at once and crossed the room, to clap Remus on the shoulder and give Tonks a one-armed hug. His hair was messier than ever, and he had great dark circles under his eyes, but his grin was even bigger. "Come and see."

The other four guests were on their feet now, heading for the doorway back to the ballroom.

"Wait," said Remus, quickly. "Don't go—we didn't mean to intrude. We'll just come back a bit later."

Hermione, who was well along in her second pregnancy, stopped to give each of them a careful hug. "No, no," she said. "We've had our turn—it's yours, now." And she smiled at them with the same unexpected gleam that Molly had had.

Tonks tiptoed over and sat down in one of the now-vacant armchairs. "Wotcher, Ginny. How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted." Ginny grinned. "Wonderful." She adjusted the blankets around the bundle in her lap. "This is Lily Luna Potter."

Harry settled back on the sofa, and slid an arm around Ginny's shoulders. "Isn't she the most beautiful little girl you ever saw?"

"Hello, Lily Luna," Remus mumured. "You may not know it yet, but you are now part of the zaniest family in all of Britain. Possibly in all the world."

"And that," said Ginny dryly, "is exactly why she needs someone sensible looking out for her." She grinned at her husband.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking suddenly, unexpectedly nervous. "Which is why—we thought—that is—" He ran a hand through his hair, standing his fringe on end. "We'd like to ask the two of you to be her godparents."

Tonks looked up, startled.

But Remus was utterly frozen. She thought he had forgotten to breathe. She reached over and caught his hand, and his fingers wrapped tightly around hers.

"Remus?" Harry looked worried, now, and Ginny leaned her head on his shoulder, watching.

"I'm—" Remus swallowed, and drew a breath, and tried again. "I'm incredibly honoured. I can't say how much it means that you've thought of us. But—"

He swallowed again, and let his gaze drop to the tiny baby with the fuzz of red hair, whose sleepy eyes were beginning to close.

"My life is better now than it has ever been," he said, very quietly. "But the fact remains that I am a werewolf."

Tonks squeezed his hand. He clung to hers.

"That,"said Harry firmly, "has nothing at all to do with anything. You know perfectly well there are no legal barriers to your doing this, not any more. And we certainly don't care."

Remus's gaze darted about, landing on Harry and Ginny, then Tonks, then baby Lily. "But—What about Bill, Ginny? I always thought he was your favourite brother."

"He is," said Ginny, simply. "But he's already Uncle Bill. This way, you're a special part of her life as well." It was Ginny's turn to swallow now, and look away. "I don't think I've ever really told you what a difference it made, the year you taught. You gave me extra practise in Defence, and didn't treat me like I was a fragile little victim—you helped me remember how to fight back." She cuddled the baby closer. "That's the kind of support I want Lily to have."

"You're already family, Remus," said Harry. "Whether you want to do this, or not. But it meant so much to me when you asked me to be godfather to Teddy."

"Besides," said Ginny, with a grin that turned impish. "I love Fleur, I honestly do, but Tonks—I'd so much rather have you as a role model for my daughter."

They all laughed at that. And then Remus squeezed Tonks's hand again, and looked a question at her.

"Of course," she whispered.

"In that case—" Remus broke into a huge, soft, wonder-filled smile. "We are honoured to be Lily's godparents."

"Here." Ginny leaned forward, beaming, and handed the tiny bundle to Remus.

He took the baby, gently, and settled her into the crook of his elbow. Tonks leaned against his shoulder to watch the tiny, sleepy face.

"Hello, Lily Luna," he murmured, again. "Welcome to the family."

~ fin ~

Author's notes: This story was written in honor of Remus's birthday last Tuesday! (Also as an antidote to all the sad bits of Kaleidoscope that I've been working on recently.) Thaddeus Johnson, Angelina's father, is an OC who will pop up briefly in one chapter of Kaleidoscope, part III.