Author's Note: I know it has been literally forever and a day since I updated, and there is no good reason for it except my total and complete lack of inspiration. We're actually not too far from the end but, for whatever reason, I've just had no feel for this story lately. I don't know why, but I hope that changes. This chapter is a bit maudlin, but we do get to meet Teddy :)

Happy Birthday to my beautiful soulmate, SableUnstable! I love you!

Thanks, Worthfull1

P.S. I own nothing, anything recognizable belongs to the lovely Ms. Rowling.

Chapter 67: Enter The Cub

"Remus, get out!"

"No, I can help - "

"Dammit, Remus, I said get out!"

Remus winced at the shrill quality of his wife's voice, and he had half a mind to argue some more, but her eyes were flashing in a way he'd never seen before and when Lily was in labor, she'd quite literally thrown James out of the room with what she later said was 'accidental' magic, but Remus had never been sure…

He turned to leave. "Okay."

"Probably best, dear," Molly told him, patting him on the back as he shuffled out the door. "It's going to get worse before it gets better and we don't need two unstable people in the room."

"I am not unstable!"

"Of course you're not, dear," Molly told Tonks, "but if he doesn't leave, he's going to make you unstable, isn't he?"

Remus waited for Dora to take exception to the redhead's condescending tone, but she just pouted and nodded, looking pointedly at him while Andromeda and Jeannie fussed with her pillows. The werewolf shook his head. He'd never felt more out of his depth than at that moment.

"How am I - " he began.

"Remus!"

"Alright, alright!" He stepped out of the room. "Leaving now," he said, watching Molly give him a sympathetic smile before closing the door in his face.

Not knowing what else to do, he simply stood there, staring at the closed door. A snort came from behind him and he spun around, forgetting that Sirius was there.

"She needs me," Remus said.

Sirius shook his head. "She doesn't."

"She might."

"Nope."

"But how can you be sure?!"

"Moony. Mate," Sirius said, opening the bottle of firewhisky he'd brought and pouring them both generous helpings. "There are four witches in that room. Four of the strongest witches you and I have ever known, and two of whom have given birth before. They know what they're doing." He handed Remus a glass.

"I don't want that."

"Indulge me."

Remus huffed and snatched the glass, downing it in one go, then handed it back to Sirius and resumed his door-watching. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he shrugged it off, but it returned, and this time he let it lead him to the armchair by the fireplace. The spot had an unobstructed view of his and Dora's bedroom door and he shot Sirius a grateful half-smile.

"It's going to be all right, Remus."

"Right," Molly said, all business once the door clicked closed, "let's get that baby out of you!"

"Oh, gods," Tonks moaned.

"Hey, we haven't started yet," Jeannie teased, taking her place by her friend and grabbing her hand.

Andromeda brushed mousy-brown hair from her daughter's forehead and gazed lovingly at her. "You're doing brilliantly, my love," she cooed. "You're being so strong. This is going to be over before you know it."

Meanwhile, Molly was arranging things around the bed and getting herself settled. She instructed Tonks to sit up, giving Jeannie a chance to shove a few pillows behind her back, and then she told Tonks to spread 'em and bend 'em. The poor witch groaned again as her best friend and her mother hauled her into the most humiliating position she'd ever been in and grit her teeth when she felt Molly push the sheet up, exposing all.

"Okay, dear," Molly said. "You're contractions are getting closer. Just sit tight and I'll tell you when you can start pushing."

"Soon, I hope," Tonks replied, ending in a grimace as another contraction hit. "Ahhhh…"

"Right on time," Molly reported, and Tonks could feel her poking around below. "Alright, dear, when the next one hits, push with all you've got."

An anguished cry filtered through the door, causing Remus to jump and drop the glass Sirius had refilled for the third time. The animagus swore quietly and flicked his wand, cleaning up the spilt whisky and summoning the glass to himself.

"Fuck," Remus muttered, leaping to his feet and pacing jerkily back and forth across the room. "I can't do this, Sirius. I can't - can't - "

"It's a bit late for doubt, mate," Sirius replied calmly, rolling his eyes when Remus spun around to glare at him. "Remus, the child is here - or, will be shortly. Are you going to do everything right? Probably not. Does that mean you're going to be a shit father? Absolutely not."

"I might. I might be terrible at it!"

"I won't allow it."

Remus stared. "Promise? Swear it, Sirius! You won't let me make a hash of this?"

Sirius looked him in the eye. "Remus, I swear it. As though you'd be allowed to fail, anyway. Your wife will get to you long before I do. Have a bit of faith in her, mate."

"I do!"

"Then do the sensible thing and let her make all the decisions," Sirius suggested calmly. "She hasn't led you wrong, yet, has she?"

Remus sighed heavily. "No," he admitted, resuming his pacing, but without the frantic nervous energy of before.

Faith. He needed to have faith. When he'd been a small boy, faith had taken the form of his mother. Hope Lupin had loved her son unconditionally, especially after his attack. Remus' father had loved him as well but, even as a child, Remus could read the guilt and pain in the man's eyes when he looked at his son.

When Dumbledore visited one day and told the family Remus could go to school, proper school, his image of faith had briefly morphed into the Headmaster, but that was quickly replaced by it taking the form of his three new friends. His first friends. Especially after their second year, and their pledge to stick by him, no matter how furry he became.

It stayed that way until James and Lily died. At that point, Remus lost faith completely. His mother had passed away shortly after his graduation - he secretly believed she had willed herself to live long enough to see him finish school - and now three of his closest loved ones were dead, and the fourth was in prison, responsible for all of it. Or, so he'd believed.

The next ten years were spent in the wilderness, moving from job to job, from town to town, making sure not to stay too long. Remus lived among muggles as much as possible. Werewolves didn't exist for muggles, so he was less concerned they would suspect him of being something they didn't even believe in. The only real danger was getting fired for taking too many 'sick' days.

And then, after a decade, several things happened in quick succession.

First, Lyall Lupin died. While fond of his father, Remus had never been able to get close to him as he had his mother, but he still mourned the man's passing. There was no funeral to speak of, just Remus making sure Lyall was buried next to Hope. She had become fond of the small church in the town nearest the Lupin's cottage, and had wished to be buried there, so Lyall had made arrangements for plots for both of them years before.

After that, Remus moved back into his parent's cottage and, just a few months later, Albus Dumbledore had come knocking. The old man who had once represented hope and faith, now resembled pain and loss, and Remus was hesitant initially to accept the teaching post offered. It was only when Dumbledore explained why he was needed that Remus took the professorship, and faith once again changed it's shape.

Harry.

Harry had faith in Remus, but Harry didn't know that he was faith to Remus. Faith personified. Broken, damaged, persecuted, kept in the dark… but still kind, generous, capable, and willing. Willing to try, willing to learn, willing to fight for what he thought was right.

Then Remus met Nymphadora. Clumsy, bubbly, and smart-mouthed, Tonks was a bright flash of colour in a rapidly greying world. He had tried, desperately, to keep his distance but, like a magnet to steel, they had been drawn to each other time and time again, and faith took it's current form.

His love, his wife, and now the mother of his child…

Remus suddenly snapped to attention as a new noise was heard from the bedroom. He spun to face the still-closed door, transfixed by the sound of his newborn child voicing displeasure at entering the world. Vaguely, Remus was aware of Sirius standing and coming up behind him, but all of his senses were attuned to what was going on just beyond the flimsy barrier of bedroom door.

He didn't remember his feet moving but, several minutes later when Molly opened the door to call him, Remus found himself standing just inches away from her. She looked up, startled, but then moved aside to let him in. He didn't move at first, afraid to enter the inner sanctum of new life, but Sirius' hand squeezed his shoulder and he took a deep breath, then stepped over the threshold.

"Wotcher," Tonks greeted him hoarsely. She was propped up on the bed, leaning against more pillows than Remus remembered there being in the entire house. Her hair was a very pale blue and she looked exhausted, but pleased. His eyes roamed her face and she gave him a tired smile. "Well, come on, then. Come and meet your son."

Remus didn't move. Sirius sighed and shared an amused but exasperated look with Jeannie, and gave his oldest friend a push. The werewolf stumbled, but got the hint, and walked over to his wife, kneeling beside the bed. Tonks drew back the blanket to reveal a tiny, purple, slimy baby latched onto her left nipple and sucking greedily. Remus stared as though he'd never seen anything like it before and Tonks chuckled.

"Your eyes are amber," she told him, reaching out to stroke his hair.

"I'm sorry," Remus apologized immediately.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless, is what you are," she told him fondly. "Here, Molly, can you bathe him? I think he's had enough tit for now."

"Of course, dear," Molly said, getting things ready for the baby's first bath. Andromeda gently lifted him from Tonks' chest and Remus' eyes followed every single movement until Tonks' fingers made their way back to his hair.

"I love you," he told her.

"I love you, too," she replied, puckering her lips for kiss. He obliged. "Sweetheart, can I - would you mind if I named him?" she asked.

"Please do," he said at once. "Anything you like. I don't care. Anything you want."

Tonks laughed tiredly. "How long are you going to be in this agreeable mood?" she teased. "I want to name him after Dad. And after you. Edward Remus Lupin. Teddy, for short."

"Teddy," Remus repeated. "That's a fine name."

"We'll have to get him a bear," Sirius said quietly to Jeannie when she walked over to him.

Jeannie grinned. "A teddy bear?" Sirius nodded and they chuckled.

"Remus, why don't you sit on the bed next to Tonks," Molly suggested, swaddling the newly-washed Teddy, "and I'll bring him to you."

"Will you have enough room if I sit on the bed?" Remus asked his wife.

Tonks nodded and patted the covers next to her. "Of course I will. Now get up here."

Remus obeyed, settling himself carefully next to her as Molly walked up to him. The redheaded matriarch gave him a big smile as she presented him with a bundle.

"Remus, meet Teddy. Teddy, meet your Daddy," she said, gently transferring the bundle to Remus.

Remus cradled his son in the crook of his arm and gazed down at the new life. As he watched, Teddy opened his eyes and looked up at him. The tiny orbs were blue, but as the two stared at each other, the blue bled into amber and Remus broke.

"What?! What's wrong?!" Tonks exclaimed.

"He's like you!" Remus nearly shouted. "His eyes just changed colour! Oh, gods! Thank you, Dora! Thank you so much!" he sobbed.

Tonks couldn't help it, she burst out laughing at her husband's relieved bawling. "You're welcome, love," she gasped out, leaning over slightly to get a look. Teddy looked at her and the roots of his hair turned blue. Tonks beamed and stroked his head. "What a clever boy, Teddy!"

Hours later, after Teddy had been passed around and gushed over, and Remus had returned from Bill's to give them the good news, Sirius and Jeannie went home. Flopping onto the sofa, Jeannie rested her feet on the coffee table while Sirius went into the kitchen to make tea. Handing her a steaming cup, he sat next to her, put his feet up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Jeannie snuggled into him. "I've never been at a birth before," she said. "I mean, I've been there just after, but I've never sat through the pushing and the screaming and the mess before. I think my hand's bruised."

She held up the hand Tonks had gripped during the last stages. There were several areas turning blue and Sirius placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles and summoned a jar of bruise paste. He set his cup down and massaged the paste into her skin, watching as the discolouration faded.

"Better?" he asked, and she nodded. "I was there for Harry's birth. I would have tried to be there when Andy had Tonks, but she'd had to keep everything quiet, so I didn't even know she'd been pregnant until Tonks was several months old."

"Was she really in that much danger?" Jeannie asked.

"Andy? Oh, yeah. My family shunned her, but her family… well, Cissy I think would have tolerated it if Lucius hadn't been a Death Eater because she and Andy had been close, but Bella would have killed her given the chance."

Jeannie snuggled in closer, tired from the day's events. "What was Harry's birth like?"

Sirius smiled fondly. "Beautiful," he said in that wistful tone he only used when talking about James and Lily. "Lily had been really lucky in her pregnancy. Other than some morning sickness and the occasional weird craving, she'd had it easy, but the last day and a half before Harry was actually born was hell. She ended up in labor for nearly twelve hours - "

"Merlin."

"Yeah. She kept laying down, then getting up again, pacing up and down, eating ice chips… then the contractions would start again and she'd lay down…" He laughed. "It was terrible, but once she was actually able to start pushing, everything went really quickly and suddenly there was this squalling little purple creature with stupid hair waving his fists in the air as the Medi-witch held him…"

"Were all of you there?"

Sirius hummed an affirmative. "It was one of the last times we were together. Lily fed him, then the Medi-witch gave him a bath and handed him to James. They cooed over him for a bit, and then James handed him to me." He sighed and kissed the top of Jeannie's head. "I want this war to be over so fucking bad, baby. I feel like I've been fighting it my whole fucking life."

"I know," Jeannie replied. "Me, too." She flicked her wand at their empty cups, sending them back to the kitchen. "Come on, let's go to bed."

It was the beginning of May, and Sirius and Jeannie were having a fight. It was a fight they'd had before. Several times. Standing in the kitchen of the house they shared, separated by the small table in the middle of the room, they shouted the same things to each other they'd been shouting for months.

"Why do you insist on defending him?!" Sirius demanded.

"I'm not defending him! I'm just saying that I think there's more to the story!" Jeannie shouted back.

"There is no story!" Sirius insisted. "The man killed Dumbledore! Murdered him in cold blood! End of story!"

Jeannie threw her hands up. "And when, in all the time you knew Albus Dumbledore, was it ever that fucking simple?!"

Sirius opened his mouth to answer, but a voice shouted at him from his pocket.

"Sirius! Are you there?!"

Sirius whipped out the mirror. "I'm here, Harry! What's going on?"

"It's time, Sirius," Harry said. "This is the end. Call the Order."

Sirius' fingers tightened on the mirror. "Where?"

"Hogwarts."

"We're on our way."

Harry's face disappeared and Sirius and Jeannie looked at each other. "You go to Andromeda's and Shell Cottage," Sirius said, "and I'll check the Burrow for Molly and Arthur."

Jeannie nodded. "If they're not there, try Muriel's. They sometimes stay there." Sirius nodded and turned to leave. "Sirius!" He looked back at her. Jeannie swallowed thickly. "Be careful."

Silver eyes bored into hers. "You too," he said, and was gone.

Jeannie heard the back door open and close and the crack! of apparition. Hanging her head, she took a deep breath to pull herself together, and then followed him. Apparating to Andromeda's first, she stayed just long enough to see Remus kiss his wife and son goodbye, and hear Andromeda promise to keep Tonks at the house, before heading to Bill's to get him and Fleur.

It was dark by the time they got to Hogsmeade, and by the sound of numerous Caterwauling Charms going off all over the village, they weren't the first. Taking a chance, they abandoned stealth, instead choosing to sprint to Aberforth's where they knew he had a way into the castle.

They went into the pub, through a portrait hole, and down a tunnel that seemed to go on forever before coming out in a part of the castle Jeannie had never been. Looking around, she saw the rest of the Order and a bunch of kids she assumed were students hiding out from Snape's authority. By the look of the space, many of the students had been living there for some time.

In the center of the room stood Harry, Ron and Hermione. Sirius was standing in front of Harry as though waiting for an order.

"Well," Sirius said. "What's the plan, Harry?"

Author's Note: Many thanks to those of you still reading! I wanted to get the final battle (next chapter) done for the anniversary, but obviously that didn't happen. Ah, well, it'll be done when it's done.

Thanks, Worthfull1