Lupin's True Love Returns

September 9, 1996

Veronica watched her fifth year Gryffindor-Ravenclaw class as a knock sounded on the classroom door. "Come in."

The door swung open and Regina and Marie stepped into the room. "Sorry, Mrs. Lupin. We thought your classes were over for the day."

"That's fine, Miss D'Ancanto. Please take a seat." Veronica motioned to two of the empty seats near the front of the classroom.

Marie sank into the seat while Regina moved to Veronica's desk. Veronica placed her quill down as Regina leaned close to her.

"Mr. Lupin is here and that Snape fellow is a real prick, Mother." Regina leaned slightly on the desk.

"Severus is always a prick, dear." Veronica barely kept her laughter contained so the rest of the class couldn't hear her. "Where are Logan and Scott?"

"Sparring down by the lake. Again." Regina rolled her hazel eyes slightly.

Veronica smiled as she climbed to her feet. "Time's up. Please finish the answer that you're on." The class hurried to finish the essay questions that they were trying to answer. "Okay. Please put your quills down." Veronica smiled as Luna and Ginny shared a look. "Miss D'Ancanto and Miss Lupin will take up the essays. The rest of you are dismissed. No homework for tonight."

The students cheered slightly as they gathered their things and hurried out the door. Marie and Regina gathered the quiz papers as Remus stepped through the door.

"Just the ladies I wanted to see." Remus leaned against the doorjamb.

Marie looked between Remus and Veronica. "I think I'm going to go find Scott and Logan. See ya."

Regina watched her friend scurry from the room. "Okay, Mother. What is going on?"

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Veronica shuffled the quiz papers slightly.

"Let's see. You've been calling me Lupin since I got here yesterday." Regina rolled her eyes as she pointed to Remus. "You even admitted that he was your boyfriend in school. Is he my father?"

Veronica let out the breath she didn't realize that she was holding. "What makes you think that, dear?"

"I have your face and your figure, Mother. I noticed yesterday that he..." She jabbed a finger in Remus' direction. "...Has my hair and eyes. I'll bet anything that I have his powers mixed with yours."

Remus conjured three comfortable maroon armchairs. "Have a seat, Regina."

"We were going to explain tonight at dinner but I have some time now." Veronica sank into the armchair next to Remus while Regina flopped into the remaining armchair.

"Well, is he my father?" Regina crossed her arms angrily.

"I tried to explain as much as I could yesterday but there was a lot I never told you. Our seventh year was full of trouble. James Potter and Lily Evans had finally gotten together. That was trouble within itself."

Remus chuckled. "Really."

Veronica frowned slightly. "Remus, hush. As I was saying, James and Lily had started to date. Sirius Black was as much a troublemaker as ever. Peter Pettigrew became moodier than ever. I always told them..." She jerked her thumb at Remus. "...That there was something wrong that rat."

"I never said anything." Remus sulked slightly in his seat.

"We were told the end of a prophecy about me. Voldemort murdered the Potters, your grandparents, a month before we graduated. Less than a week after that he murdered the Lupins, your other grandparents." Veronica's voice wavered slightly. "About a week after the Lupins were killed, Albus approached me about my safety."

"What do you mean, Mother?"

"Albus asked her to have a Memory Charm put on her in order to hide her from Voldemort. She agreed the same day that James and Lily were married. She thought it was the only way to protect us." Remus climbed from his chair and knelt beside Veronica's. "Even that didn't help."

"That doesn't explain if you are my father."

"Honey, let me tell you something. Remus and I had made a pact when we were in sixth year that we would wait until we were married. I couldn't go through with the Memory Charm. I ran from Albus' office." Veronica wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I wasn't going go after her but James and Sirius both threatened to kill me if I didn't. Lily told me to get my ass in gear and follow her before she kicked my ass." Remus shook his head at the memory. "When I caught up to her, she was in a room that we had never seen before. That was the one and only time we ever made love." Remus moved to Regina's chair and knelt beside her. "I never knew about you, Regina. Merlin knows that I wish I had. I would have come and gotten you and your mother in a heartbeat."

"What happened after Mother left?" Regina slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around Remus.

"James, Lily, Sirius, Peter, and I joined the Order of the Phoenix." Remus chuckled when Regina looked up at him questioningly. "It's a group of witches and wizards that banded together to help defeat Voldemort."

"Who is this Voldemort fellow?" Regina glanced over at Veronica's furious face.

"He is a dark wizard that was rising to power during the 1970's. Fifteen years ago he disappeared but now he's back. That's why we asked Snape that question at the cottage yesterday." Veronica took a deep cleansing breath. "We needed to make sure that Voldemort hadn't sent one of his Death Eaters after us."

"So what happened to your friends?" Regina looked between her parents.

"One betrayed us and if I ever catch him, he's dead." Veronica jumped to her feet and stalked over to one of the windows.

"Peter betrayed James and Lily. He told Voldemort where to find the Potters." Remus ran a hand over his eyes. "On Harry's second Halloween, Harry lost his parents."

"So Uncle James and Aunt Lily are dead." Regina felt Remus tighten his arms. "What happened to your other friend? Um...Sirius Black?"

"He was imprisoned for a murder and betrayal that he never committed." Remus bowed his head slightly. "I'm ashamed to say that I also believed his 'crimes'. He escaped from Azkaban when Harry was thirteen. Everyone thought he was after Harry when he was, in fact, after the traitor, Peter Pettigrew."

"Peter?" Regina watched her mother start to pound on the windowsill.

"That rat hid for thirteen years as a rat in the Weasley home. Ron had brought him to the school and he was in the same dorm as Harry for three years already." Veronica closed her eyes for a moment. "If I ever catch that rat he's going to wish he's never been born."

Remus shook his head slightly. "We all think that way, darling. Sirius thought that way more than the rest of us."

"So where is Uncle Sirius?" Regina glanced up into Remus' face since she was still sitting in Remus' lap.

"He died this past June when he fell behind the veil in the Death Chamber at the Ministry of Magic. He was trying to save Harry." Remus wiped at the tears starting to fall down Regina's cheeks. "He would have loved you, sweetie."

"So you and Mother have had all your friends taken from you?" Regina saw Veronica coming back to them.

"You get used to it." Veronica knelt next to Remus and Regina and hugged them both. "I hadn't seen them for close to twenty years. There is a good thing though."

"What is that?" Regina snuggled closer to her father as Veronica smiled softly.

"I still have Remus, Harry, Leo...and you." Veronica glanced up into Remus' eyes and he nodded. "We have one more thing to tell you."

"What?" Regina breathed in the scent of woods, leather, and fresh air from Remus' robes.

"Remus is a werewolf. He takes a potion once a month but other than that he is one of the sweetest men that I know." Veronica watched Regina closely but she never jumped of screamed.

Regina only tightened her hold on her father. "I don't care."

Veronica jumped slightly as the clock chimed 3:45. "I guess we best be going. Poppy always get angry when we're late."

Remus lifted Regina from his lap before climbing to his feet. He pulled Regina up first. Veronica gripped his hand and Remus pulled her up. Remus tapped the armchairs with his wand and they disappeared. He gripped Veronica's hand and held out the other hand out to Regina. Regina smiled as she grabbed her father's hand. Veronica rubbed her stomach as they walked to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey stepped from her office.

"Oh good. I was beginning to think that you had forgotten." Madam Pomfrey ushered them to one of the beds. "I take you understand that I have some news for you."

"Of course, Poppy." Remus laid a hand on Veronica's shoulder after she had sat on the bed.

Regina settled herself onto the bed beside Veronica and grabbed her hand. Poppy hurried into her office to retrieve a file. Regina frowned slightly as the matron came from her office again.

"When I took blood last week, I decided to run a few tests. One of which tells whether the baby will be a werewolf or not." Madam Pomfrey shuffled through the papers of the file.

"And?" Veronica bit her bottom lip.

"Nothing there. Your baby will be completely normal. But that wasn't the test that I was worried about. The other test came back positive." Madam Pomfrey glanced back at the small family seated before her.

"Positive for what?" Regina glared at Madam Pomfrey. "What's wrong with my brother or sister?"

"Nothing. It seems that you will have either two brothers, two sisters, or one of each." Madam Pomfrey smiled brightly. "You're pregnant with twins."

Veronica gaped for a moment while Regina cheered. "Twins? Twins?" Remus took several steps back as Veronica turned toward him. "You got me pregnant with twins? I should kill you."

"It's not my fault. It takes two to tango." Remus hurried to the other side of the bed.

Veronica jumped to her feet and raced after Remus. "If you think for one moment that I'm going to let these babies turn into another set of Weasley twins, or even James and Sirius, I suggest you think again."

"Maybe you shouldn't have told them anything." Regina watched Remus run from Veronica as Severus stepped into the Hospital Wing.

"Excuse me." Severus smirked slightly as Remus stopped running and Veronica began hit him with her fists. "I take it her hormones have taken over."

"No." Remus caught Veronica's hands. "She just found out that she's having twins."

"Congratulations." Severus held up a goblet of steaming potion. "I brought your potion."

Remus released Veronica and walked over to Severus. He gulped down the potion, making a face. Regina climbed to her feet and made her way to her father. She hugged him while he popped a Peppermint Toad into his mouth. The Hospital Wing doors swung open and a red haired man stepped into the Hospital Wing. Logan, Scott, and Marie were a few steps behind him. Veronica squealed as the red haired man picked her up and swung her around. Logan extended his claws as Scott and Marie stood next to Regina.

"So, 'Gina, who's the hottie?" Marie watched Remus hug the man.

"I have no idea, Marie, but I'm going to find out." Regina straightened her long dark skirt as she made her way over to her parents.

"Molly didn't tell me you were going to visit, Charlie." Veronica gave Charlie Weasley another hug.

"Well, she told me about your pregnancy so I figured I should come and visit." Charlie's deep blue eyes fell on Regina coming toward them. "Who is this lovely lady?"

Veronica ignored Remus' slight growl. "Don't tell me you're interested in my daughter, Charlie?"

"She can't be your daughter. You're too young to have a teenage daughter." He turned to Regina as he draped his arm across Veronica's shoulders. "I can't believe my 'Oni has a teenage daughter." He glanced down at Veronica's slightly rounded stomach. "And you're going to have another one."

"I wish you would stop calling me 'Oni." Veronica rolled her eyes slightly.

Regina smiled as she held out a hand. "I'm Regina Lupin and you are...?"

"Charlie Weasley. I'm sure your mother has told you all about changing my nappies." Charlie smiled brilliantly as he brought Regina's hand to his lips.

Regina blushed slightly when she felt his lush lips brushed the back of her slender hand. "All she's told me about you is that she used to look after you, Bill, and Percy."

"Perhaps we could discuss our families over dinner tonight at the Three Broomsticks?" Charlie watched Regina nibble on her bottom lip.

"Sorry, Charlie, but tonight is family night." Remus practically yanked Regina out of Charlie's grasp.

Veronica frowned slightly. "You could join us, Charlie. I mean Harry's going to be there."

"And Harry's family." Remus gave Veronica a look that said 'Are you trying to kill me slowly?'

"Well, I consider Charlie family. Besides, Marie, Scott, and Logan will be eating with us." Veronica gave him a look that said 'Piss me off again and you're going to pay.'

"Fine." Remus held up his hands in surrender.

"Good." Veronica turned to face Logan, his claws still extended. "Will you please stand down, Logan? I swear you are as bad as Remus. Can't the two of you let her grow up?"

Remus and Logan looked at each other. "No!"

"Come on, Charlie. I want to hear everything that's been happening in the dragon camp." Veronica linked her arm with Charlie's and ushered him from the Hospital Wing.

"You work with dragons?" Regina hurried after them with Scott and Marie hot on her heels.