Wolf pup - July 1982 - Lupin's Cottage (Charmus/Friends)

[Remus Lupin]

July 1982

It was hard to believe they were all parents now.

Well, almost all of them. Running his hand through her hair, Remus looked down at his wife who was napping against him. His very pregnant wife. He never thought he would be in this situation, just relaxing with the woman he loved while they waited for the day their son decided to make his appearance into the world. But then again, he had never thought a lot of things were possible. He had never expected to go to school, to have friends, to date a girl, to get married to that girl. And now they were starting a family.

A family that they hadn't planned to have, sure. And he'd messed up, took off running when they found out. But after much toil, and a good hard talk from his friends, he'd come back. And while adjusting to the idea that soon there would be three of them in this small cottage, he'd grown fond of it. Seeing James and Sirius with their kids, getting some lessons from them both on how to do things like change a diaper, feed a bottle. Not to mention their fantastic wives, who only laughed at him a little when he messed things up.

And then seeing Peter become a father just a week ago, it had gotten to him. To know that he'd soon be joining their ranks. And while there was always concerns about having a baby, he still had the feeling in the pit of his stomach. Because what if his son was too much like him. There were no answers on this sort of thing, and to think of such a small child going through something like that...

Resting his hand on Charlotte's stomach, he whispered quietly. "Love you my little baby. We'll make it work, no matter what."

[Charlotte Fudge]

Charlotte was feeling slightly...overwhelmed.

"The miracle of life" happening within her was rather thought- and energy- and time-consuming. She hadn't had a full night's sleep in months, her body ached in places she didn't know could ache, and her abdomen had ballooned out to hold their son. It was hard to recognize herself in the mirror, and she was just - always - so - tired - lately. Reading about pregnancy and childbirth and child-rearing, hearing stories from girlfriends who were going through this, it was an overload of information on her already strained brain. Because while she and Remus had decided to keep the baby, that didn't mean it wasn't an intimidating reality still. That it wasn't something she was frightened of. Because what if she wasn't a good mother? What if she turned out like her own, however much she'd tried to distance herself from Mrs. Fudge? She couldn't bear it if she wasn't recognizing herself again one day down the road - if she heard her mother in her voice, spitting at their child the proper way to behave, demanding things of him that he didn't want...

She really had hoped that by now - when he was due any day - she would feel ready. And while she was ready to give birth for the sake of no longer carrying him around, in many ways she was absolutely not feeling ready. Because she could handle pregnancy - she'd proven that to herself over these last months. But soon there would be a baby. And in a few years there would be a toddler. And then a child. And then a teenager. Just having left the teenage years herself, how was she - how was she supposed to do this?

She and Remus had had many lengthy nights discussing both of their fears, and somehow always got back to the wonderful parts about all of this...the hopes that they could do this, as everyone thought, seeing as everyone else was managing...imagining the innumerable little joys ahead of them, experiencing parenthood, watching their child grow...knowing his laugh, his hopes, his fears...

Her husband's voice and their son - well, the way her body was preparing for him to, erm, move into the world, sending discomfort through her as one of those pre-labor contractions hit - woke her. The first time it had happened, Merlin's sake, she and Remus had - ah - panicked, thinking she was entering labor much too early. Regardless of their research, it felt like the baby was trying to leave her in a most hurried manner. But as she had said to do with any pregnancy questions, they had called Alice, who assured them, in her calming way, that everything was fine.

That didn't mean either of the soon-to-be-parents slept that night, so much were they watching her belly, but they had grown more accustomed to it.

A sleepy mumble came from her as she woke, drowsily pushing herself up off of the coziness that was Remus in a half-hearted attempt to sit up. "Sorry - did you - did you say something?" You fell asleep again? It seemed like anytime lately where they were relaxing, if there was a long enough lull in conversation...her body gave in, catching the odd moments it could to attempt to catch up on sleep. Today wasn't the greatest day for that, though - they had loose plans with friends, an open house of sorts for tea, a means of distracting themselves from their soon-to-be-reality by hosting a gathering. With a small smile, Char saw his hand at her swollen stomach, and leaned back into him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before resting her hand on his. With a mewling purr, Benvolio leapt onto the bed, nuzzling against their hands until they relented, stroking him as he moved back and forth against her belly until he settled in.

[Remus Lupin]

The night they had told his parents that they were going to be grandparents - oh you should have seen the look on his mother's face - he'd had a real conversation with his father. The father who hadn't even really been much of a father to him. He expressed his concerns, What if this child is like you? You don't know how hard it is to watch your child go through this every month. And Remus had agreed, it had to be scary, but he would sure as hell not do the same stuff his father did.

An argument that turned into an apology, and the first hug he'd received from his father in so many years. And while the past still stung - his father was trying. Trying to be a father now, to get to know the son that he had never really spent time with. It was strange, trying to bond. But it was good. Even though he'd had plenty of people to look up to as a Father, to show him how a child deserved to be treated, having his own father show some interest in his life was still making a part of his heart soften.

Charlotte mumbled quietly, and he looked to her face to see that she was slowly waking up. Her naps had become frequent, and Remus wasn't going to complain. Any sleep they could get now was worth it. She needed rest, and he enjoyed laying there with her while she got it. "Sorry love, I was talking to our son," he replied as she looked down to find his hand on her stomach.

He smiled happily and she snuggled back into him, resting her hand on top of hers. And he wasn't at all surprised when Benvolio decided to join them, squirming in between them so he could lay near Charlotte's belly. Really, the first sign should have been when he had begun to act strangely. But Remus - who still despised all cats besides this one - hadn't thought much of it. After all, cat's were unpredictable creatures.

And ever since then, his cat had become her cat, and he was absolutely positive that once the baby was born, that both of them would lose the cat to their infant. "I have no idea when anyone is showing up, but you can keep napping. I'm sure they will understand. Besides, I got everything set up so that I can start tea as soon as they get here."

[Charlotte Fudge]

While the pregnancy was something that had almost split them up, over the last few months it had wound up bringing the couple closer together. Maybe it was the pregnancy and his impending fatherhood, maybe it was the end of the war and all of the horror that had come with it, maybe it was the newfound bridge of understanding between Remus and his father, maybe it was to make up for leaving - whatever it was, her husband had almost never been so calm and kind and at peace. Sure, each had his or her own moments of panic at the innumerable changes coming in their lives, but he had again become her rock. Charlotte couldn’t have been more grateful for the help he had been, from talking her down to rubbing her aching feet and swollen ankles, and on instinct began squeezing his hand as another pre-labor contraction decided to come before she could answer him.

You have a few days left in there, love - patience, please.

Relaxing the grip she had on him, Charlotte nodded and checked the clock at the bedside, noting with relief that she hadn’t left him company-less for too long. She let her eyes close again, idly stroking his hand, and the cat whenever he butted in. "Thank you…I wish I was more help." She sighed, still so unused to feeling so lethargic, so useless, just an incubator for their child. She’d been having work-mates send manuscripts in, seeing as being at the office hadn't been as productive as she'd hoped. There were too many questions, she had to take too many breaks...it was best if she worked from home. "Wake me when they start arriving, will you? Especially Daisy and Peter, need to see how they and Paisley are." The Pettigrews’ little girl, with a shock of Daisy’s red hair and Peter’s nose, was darling, and maybe if she got more practice holding her today she’d feel more ready to be on mom-duty with their son…

[Remus Lupin]

He ran a hand through her hair gently, knowing quite well what the squeeze of his hand indicated. There had been so much panic the first time she'd felt a contraction, worry that their boy was showing up too early. But now they had become adjusted to those - what were they called, something Hicks? - and simply got through them with some hand squeezes and reassurance that it was only a few more days. She made herself comfortable again, and he smiled down at her as she stroked his hand, with their cat ever so often putting in so that he could be pet. "Don't worry Charlotte, you deserve to rest. And I promise I will let you know as soon as they are here."

He watched her drift into another nap, and resumed petting Benvolio as he purred happily, looking up to Remus expectantly every time he stopped. "You're a little traitor, you know that?" he whispered, scratching the cat behind his ears. And before he realized it, his own eyes were closed and he was asleep himself.

A knock at the door woke up him, and he glanced at the clock. What had felt like forever had only been a few minutes. Hearing the knock again, he slid from the bed as quietly as possible, doing his best not to wake Charlotte or the cat who had joined them in their nap. Stretching as he headed to the door, he opened it up to a pair of familiar faces. "Hey, come on in."

[Daisy Hookum]

Being pregnant had been exhausting, but actually have a newborn? Daisy was positively sure that she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep at all this week. Waking up for feedings, changing diapers. Even with magic it was more than she had expected. Sure, she'd seen her friends with their kids and she knew she that it wasn't going to be easy but she hadn't really grasped it until her and Peter had been alone with their brand new daughter. And since she refused to let Peter's family anywhere near their child, they'd been on their on with help from friends when they could spare it.

And while she didn't want to stress Charlotte out, seeing as she was so close to having a baby of her own, she'd been honest when they had gotten a chance to talk. She was so tired, and she had no idea how she would have gotten through any of this without Peter. It was good that Remus had come around to the idea and accepted things, that was for sure. Pulling her hair into a ponytail as she approached the Lupin's cottage, she looked back at her husband and their daughter who was, thankfully, asleep in his arms.

She stopped at the door, taking a moment to try and brush some of the mess of red hair Paisley had out of her face, before she knocked. "Maybe she'll sleep the entire time we are here," Daisy whispered to Peter, waiting for someone to answer the door. And after what seemed like a decent amount of time, she gave another short knock. Wouldn't be surprised if they were both asleep.

And shortly after a sleepy looking Remus was at the door, letting them inside. She motioned to Paisley and put a finger to her lips so that he would know she was sleeping, before entering the house and walking with Peter to the living room. "Char asleep?"

[Peter Pettigrew]

Life was a crazy, amazing thing.

If someone had asked him at the start of his schooling if he ever thought he would be married with a host of incredible friends, he would have answered that girls were weird and he would never make any real friends. Later he would have been surprised if a girl even noticed him, never mind whether he liked one, but yeah friends he would do. Then came the Marauders and Daisy, and now they had Paisley and life just seemed too perfect.

Nine months ago he was on the cusp of betraying everything and everyone he held dear, he was being controlled by an evil he had never known before, he had been weak. But Daisy was there and his mates, and some way they pulled him out of the massive black whole his life had become. Daisy was and would always be his saving grace, all that was bad in him was good in her and Peter knew without her he would never be the man he was working towards. He would never have become a dad. It was unthinkable now that when he had found out about the joyous news all he could think of was getting rid of it. That it would only make his life worse; that they had to dispose of it before anyone found out.

Now that ‘it’ was a ‘her’… Paisley.

Peter never thought he would love anyone as much as Daisy, but he had been wrong, like so many times before. It seemed he wasn’t right about much of anything, ever. Now he couldn’t imagine loving anyone as intensely as he loved his daughter. It was a crazy, fearful love, irrational and all consuming, protective yet freeing. She was a piece of him, and a piece of Daisy; she was all that was perfect in the world. And she smiled in her sleep. Peter smiled along with her as her mamma brushed hair from the sleeping babies face and the tiny human smiled at the contact. Peter stroked her precious face with a tender finger and thought that life could not get any better.

Here they were at his best mates house, his mate best and his best mates pregnant wife. And James and Lily had Harry and Sirius and Willa had finally worked out their life; nothing could be more perfect than this moment or the thousands to come. Sure he barely slept now-a-days, there was still a war raging, and he was so hard up for his wife it hurt sometimes; all of that paled in comparison to the miracle of his life and his family. “Or maybe she will sleep later and we can sleep too.” Peter said to his wife in a baby soft voice, his eyes all for the little red head dozing in his arms.

Reluctantly Peter removed his eyes from his daughter and smiled up at Remus as he greeted them. “Mate you look horrible.” Peter joked amicably. Remus was admitted more concerned for his child than any of the other three marauders had been; meaning beside the normal worries of emanate death and abandonment, oh and being placed in Slytherin when they are older. There was no recorded precedent for a werewolf reproducing but Peter had a feeling all would be well. Charlotte could love anything out of a person, but that didn’t matter because the kid would be perfectly normal. “We the first ones here?” Peter asked, glancing around and shifted the sleeping baby onto his shoulder. “Hope they aren’t too long, I don’t want to be out late with this one, it’s suppose to get cool later.”

[Charlotte Fudge]

If she was being honest, Charlotte would admit she hardly heard her husband's words before she fell back asleep. It was what her body wanted and, again if she was being honest, what her mind needed too. She couldn't worry when she was sleeping, she couldn't be overwhelmed and at mercy to her unpredictable emotions, she could just drift off into the soothing nothingness of sleep and leave her thoughts and her reality behind. Waiting, just waiting, was exhausting. Her patience had always been something she could rely on, but now? Char simultaneously wanted true labor to begin just as much as she wanted it to never come. Daisy had described the whole ordeal to her in absolute honesty - too tired herself to be anything but candid - and while she wouldn't admit it to Remus, Charlotte was terrified she wouldn't be able to manage the birth itself.

Never mind what was coming after.

She'd risen to every occasion placed before her, so should be able to adapt to motherhood too, right? She and Remus would stumble through it, prepared through their books and friends' stories and observations, but they'd be all right?

At least you have him back.

It was with that thought that Charlotte tripped back into wakefulness, but while she could feel the warmth of Benvolio curled up at her legs, she could no longer feel her husband near her. She blinked and struggled to sit, wiping sleepy tears from her eyes - anything would cause them these days - as she heard murmurs of voices from outside the room. Before she could get to her feet, another pre-labor contraction hit, and she gasped at its intensity, clutching the mattress with white-knuckled hands. They...they've never hurt that badly. It was difficult to try and steady her heart after that, to push back the panic threatening to rise up, but she did her best, fixing herself up a little in front of the mirror before heading out of their room.

It's nothing, we've got days of this yet.

"I'm fairly sure someone was supposed to wake me," she teased quietly, going to gently hug the new parents around her own body's seemingly perpetual discomfort. They looked as well as one could expect - definitely exhausted, but happy. We'll be there soon. Giving a loving look to Paisley, held so contentedly in her father's arms, Charlotte asked, "How is she? I swear her hair doubles before any time we see her." The little Pettigrew was darling, and excited talks had already been had about their children growing up together. All that was left was...to meet theirs. On her way to take a seat on the couch, the expectant mother gave Remus a smile - no need to worry him about the contraction, they should ebb out like always, right? "What can we get for you two?"

[Deleted]

To say Marlene was excited would be an understatement.

Only a few weeks ago she and Liam found out she was pregnant. Again. It had taken effort to force back the anxiety, the feelings from the last pregnancy. (Since the last time she was pregnant she’d run away out of fear and, after coming back, had then been kidnapped by an insane werewolf who wanted to turn her child into a werewolf soldier straight from her womb). But it hadn’t taken as much effort as she thought. She’d assumed she was pregnant, had some time to consider it, before they had gotten it confirmed by Roderick.

But so far they were the only ones that knew.

Marlene had elected not to tell anyone yet. Last time it had come out when it was necessary. Mentioned to people when the timing felt right. She’d told her best friend the day after she’d told Liam. This time she decided to wait. Especially since Remus and Charlotte were coming up on officially becoming parents any day now. She would give them their time, besides it wasn’t like this was her first child. The news just didn’t seem quite as important.

At least not for everyone else right now.

And since Remus and Charlotte were having one last pre-baby ‘party’, she would make sure no one found out. She got herself dressed first, trying to get Mo dressed was always a challenge so she might as well make sure everything else was ready first. She wasn’t entirely sure what to wear. She was always dressed so practically, that as nice as it would be to dress up… She found she didn’t want to. Not to mention she’d already started showing (Just a little but still) and she was trying to hide it.

“The same girl who took forty five minutes to decide what to wear to a bloody quidditch match…” She mumbled to herself as she stared at her closet. When she decided on an outfit, she located her daughter and got her into a sundress (It took less work than pants and a shirt did). She picked up her daughter and grabbed the things the two of them would need. Liam had had an away game and was supposed to come back today, so she’d told him to meet them there if he had time. And after she was sure they had everything the two of them headed out.

She showed up at the door and knocked, she didn’t think they were too late but with no one there she couldn’t be sure. “I hope we aren’t late.”