Professor Lupin's Apprentice

XXII: Twins and Detention

At my next medical appointment, later that afternoon, my Muggle obstetrician said she was "concerned" with the baby's growth. Naturally, worrywart that I am, I immediately sat up on the exam table, panic in my eyes.

"Concerned?" I practically screeched. "What cause is there for concern?"

"This is good concern, Melinda, not bad concern," she soothed. The woman knew me far too well. "Since this is your first pregnancy, you probably haven't noticed your baby is growing exceptionally quickly."

"What does that mean?" I asked, my hands instinctively caressing my belly. I always thought I'd started showing a bit too early but, like she said, I had no basis for comparison.

"It could mean several things although, due to Occam's razor, I am inclined to seek the simplest explanation. Tell me, do you have any twins in your family?"

"My mother was a twin. But I'm not."

"It usually skips a generation. Anyhow, I think you may be having twins," she said, smiling broadly.

"Oh my! Remus will be thrilled! Are you sure?"

She shook her head. "I'm fairly sure I hear two distinct heartbeats but, at this stage, we can't determine anything for certain without an ultrasound. Are you or your husband averse to knowing the sex beforehand?"

"Not at all. We just didn't think an ultrasound was covered by National Health."

"It isn't when the procedure is performed merely for sex determination. But, as I cannot best treat two babies by treating them as one, I think we can swing it."

"Would you mind if I ring Remus first to ask him, just in case?"

"Certainly not. You may use the phone on the desk. I'll ... just ... pop out and be back in a few minutes."

"Thank you, doctor."

I walked to the desk and dialled Remus at home. By this time, he was almost accustomed to using the telephone, but not completely. When he picked up, his voice was muffled. I had to speak loudly on my end, but I turned my back to the door and covered the mouthpiece so my raised voice would be as inconspicuous as possible.

"Remus! Remus! Turn the receiver around! You have it the wrong way!"

"Wart, is that you?"

That was much better, I thought. "Yes, Moony, it's me."

"Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine, but the doctor wants to know if you mind knowing the baby's sex."

"What? Why?"

"She wants to do an ultrasound."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "What's wrong with the baby?" he asked at last.

"Nothing's wrong with the baby, Moony. The obstetrician just wants to do an ultrasound."

"Be straight with me, Wart. Something must be wrong if she wants to do that. You said Muggle National Health doesn't pay for that procedure."

"Under normal circumstances, no. But the circumstances aren't normal."

"Wart, you're scaring me!"

"The doctor wants to see something, but I promise it isn't bad. Will you just trust me?"

Only silence answered.

"Come on, Moony. Yes or no?"

I could almost hear him shrug. "I suppose yes. Will you come home straightaway and tell me, whatever it is?"

"Of course I will. I promise I'll be home directly."

"Soon?"

"It shouldn't take long."

"I'm going to be a wreck until you get here, you know that?"

"Don't worry, Moony. Everything is fine. I love you."

"I love you. I'll see you soon?"

"Yes. Bye." As I hung up, the doctor knocked and came back in, rolling a cart with the ultrasound apparatus.

"So, do we want to know what we have?" she asked.

"We do," I replied.

She swivelled the cart round so I could see the monitor. Then she popped a tape into the attached video recorder and pressed the record button. I lay back on the table, and the doctor raised my gown to spread cold jelly on my abdomen. She spread the jelly further as she quickly moved the probe all around my stomach. Then she began to move the probe more slowly.

"Congratulations, Mrs Lupin! We definitely have twins. This one," the doctor said moving the probe to the left side of my stomach, "looks like a boy." She slid the probe across to the right and added, "And this one ... is a also a boy."

"That's wonderful! I can't wait to tell Remus ... Does everything else look in order?"

"Absolutely. Two extremely healthy-looking babies."

"Identical or fraternal?" I asked.

"Too early to tell. What was your mother?"

"Oh, I expect she was fraternal, since my uncle was her twin."

"Unless your uncle had a sex change," she said, chuckling. "Well, then we can be relatively sure your twins are fraternal."

"Thank you, doctor."

She turned the machine off, cleaned the jelly off my skin, and ejected the tape, which she labelled "Lupin Twins." After she handed me the tape, I dressed as quickly as I could and drove home. Remus was pacing when I walked in, and he ran to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, frantically, grabbing my arms.

"Nothing's wrong—I told you—but—"

"But what?"

"It's official: I'm having a litter."

"What?" he asked, adorably confused.

"Twins, Moony! We're having twins!"

"Twins?!? Is that all? Merlin's beard, Wart! I've been beside myself here!"

"I'm sorry. I wanted to surprise you."

When the news finally sunk in, he sighed and kissed me. "We're having twins! That's wonderful!"

"Now that's closer to the reaction I was hoping for," I said, wrapping my arms round his neck. "It's fitting, isn't it? Having twins who will probably be Geminis?"

"That's bad," Remus said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Four's a crowd," he said with a smirk. "Boys or girls?"

"Boys, although they're probably not identical."

He hugged me incredibly tightly.

"Moony, this is decidedly uncomfortable."

"Oh, so sorry, Wart. I'm just so happy."

"I know you're happy, but that's no reason to squash me. I'm liable to pop, like an engorged tick." I reached inside my bag and held up the tape. "So, do you want to have a look at your sons?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

He viewed the ultrasound with rapt attention, sitting on the sofa with both arms wrapped around my stomach. We had already decided—if we had a boy—he was going to be Remus Jeremiah Junior. Well, I put my foot down, and Remus eventually gave in, although we had not yet thought of a name for a girl. Now we knew we were having twin boys, we'd have to think of another name, and I pondered this whilst we watched the tape.

"What do you think of 'Romulus James'?" I asked, as I turned off the telly afterward.

"Please tell me you're joking," Remus said, rubbing his eyes.

"No, I'm serious."

"I can't fault 'James,' but why on earth would you want to name a baby 'Romulus'?"

"Think about it."

"I caught the allusion: Twin boys ... Romulus and Remus ... Suckled by a she-wolf. Very funny."

"Oh, I'd forgotten the she-wolf bit. I just remembered their founding Rome."

"Neither of us is Italian, so that's not a good enough reason."

"Well, the 'James' is for James Potter, of course, and with 'Romulus,' all three of you will have the same initials."

"Yes, but that would be true with 'Roger' or 'Roderick' or 'Robert' or any other normal name starting with an 'R'. Believe me, Melinda ... I've been a 'Remus' all my life, and having an odd name isn't fun."

"Well, then, why didn't you go by 'Jeremiah'?"

"That's even worse, but I latched onto 'Moony' good and proper."

"We can call them 'Rom' and 'Rem'."

"Computer memory and dream sleep? Charming!"

"Well, 'Rommie' and 'Remmie,' then."

"That's not any better."

"But 'Romulus and Remus' has such a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"No."

"I have only two words for you: 'Wormtail' and 'Wart'."

"I thought you liked 'Wart'."

"I've ... got used to it. Come on, Moony! Your sons will be natural-born leaders. And they need strong names to reflect that. They might even found their own city some day."

He smirked. "All right, you've convinced me. 'Romulus James' it is. But we're calling them James and Jerry."

I nodded. "That's perfectly fine with me."

Before I went to the obstetrician, I told Remus about my day and my "detention" later that night. He was naturally curious as to why I hadn't come home for lunch and why Snape needed to talk to him. I was surprised, however, that he was not more upset with my treatment at the Potions master's hands that morning.

I still hadn't told Remus the truth about the supposed row, so I thought he'd be extremely angry when I told him what Professor Snape said. Instead, he seemed to take it in stride. To my extreme surprise, when we stepped from the hearth in the dungeon office, Remus and Snape shook hands. I gaped for a few seconds before I could speak.

"When did the two of you become such good friends?" I asked.

"Why should you be surprised, Wart?" Remus asked.

"After all, you were the one playing peacemaker," Snape added.

I sighed. "That's why you didn't get upset when I told you what he said this morning!"

"I happen to know the Death Eaters have been exhaustively searching for their spy," Remus replied. "And I gave Severus some suggestions as to what might upset you the most."

"You didn't tell her?" Snape asked sharply.

My husband shook his head.

"No wonder you were upset, Melinda. You should have told her, Lupin."

"Well, she didn't fool you about our break-up, Severus, so she's apparently not the world's best actress."

I glared at him.

"I'm sorry, Wart," he said, shrugging. "It was vital that you be convincing. Severus' very life was on the line."

I covered my eyes with my hand and sighed. "Oh, Severus, a few tears on my part is nothing compared to your life." Then I stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "You are very brave. Please forgive me."

"That's quite all right, Melinda," he said, flushing a bit orange and turning away with his hand on my back. "Let's get you started on your potion. Lupin and I have much to discuss."

Snape had already written a list of potion ingredients on the chalkboard and he handed me a book—not our regular Potions text—opened to a page with the instructions. He and Remus drug my cauldron to the front of the room. As they headed for the office as I looked over the components: one rat spleen, a dash of leech juice, a sliced caterpillar, daisy roots, and one skinned shrivelfig.

"Professor Snape?" I asked, and he turned. Remus also wheeled mid-stride. "This isn't the potion we were doing this morning, is it?"

"No," Snape said, smiling and pointing lazily at the chalkboard. "That's a third year Shrinking Potion. The Swelling Potion from this morning would be child's play for you. This is a detention, after all."

With a shrug and a smile, I started immediately. Snape and Remus then disappeared into the office. I couldn't hear what they were discussing, and I suspected Snape had cast a Silencing Charm on his office. The sound faded slowly as the office door swung to, but ceased altogether once the latch clicked. He had probably done the same for our talk after lunch, in case any Slytherins decided to lurk in the dungeon.

An hour later, as I was reaching the end of my preparation, they finally emerged from the door at the back of the dungeon. Snape strode toward my cauldron, a baby bird chirping in hand. He scooped out a spoonful of the potion and dribbled some of the bright green concoction into the bird's beak. The bird was quiet momentarily whilst swallowing, and the potion acted with a slight pop. Snape eyed the small egg in his palm.

"Well done." He produced a vial from the folds of his robes, shaking a few drops onto the egg. After another crack, the bird reappeared, as loud as ever. Snape then waved his wand, closing the dungeon door. "Silencium. Successful completion of a third year potion would give me sufficient grounds to restore the ten points I deducted from Gryffindor this morning," he continued. "But I think I should let that stand for appearance's sake, don't you?"

"Probably. Er—Severus, you swore me to secrecy about our arrangement. Why are you talking about this freely in front of Remus?"

"I swore you to secrecy," he replied. "I can confide in whomever I choose."

My husband only grinned.

"Yes, but you don't trust Remus, remember?"

"Oh ... well ... You've convinced me Lupin's trustworthy," Snape said, shrugging. "And I decided to take you up on that offer of help before it was too late."

After that, we returned to the office to start home. Before we stepped into the fire, however, Snape caught Remus' arm.

"Be careful, Lupin."

"You do the same, Severus."

They shook hands, almost warmly this time. Then I kissed Snape's cheek again before Remus and I stepped into the flames.

"So, what was that all about?" I asked after we emerged from the sitting room hearth.

Remus shook his head. "I can't tell you. For your own safety."

"Remus," I warned.

"I'm sorry, Wart, but it's really better you not know."

"Why?"

"You'd only worry."

I pouted. "You don't trust me."

"I do trust you. But if I worked for the government, would you ask me the details of my work?"

"No," I admitted, sulking.

"This is the same thing."

I resigned myself to not knowing this information with a sigh. In fact, I've never learnt what Remus and Snape discussed that night, although I had my suspicions as to some of the conversation. Snape mentioned Remus' immunity to the Killing Curse, I imagine, and warned him to watch for Death Eaters who might eventually try a silver sword on him. I also never discovered what Remus was supposed to do as a result of the information Snape had given him. Remus did not leave to go on any mission that I know of. I'll admit, however, I am a heavy sleeper and would have easily missed it if he left after I was asleep and returned before I woke.

Before Snape mentioned the fact that day, I had no suspicions Remus was an Auror. Of course, I knew he'd joined in battle against Voldemort when he first rose to power. And I knew Voldemort had returned. But, for some reason, it took a while for me to put together the little "errands" he performed on Dumbledore's behalf were strikes against the Dark Lord. Or perhaps they weren't. They could have been nothing more than reconnaissance. At this stage, that seemed likely. For now, Voldemort was still in hiding, but I was sure he would only gain more strength and more followers as the months wore on.

Living with an Auror isn't so taxing as one might believe. Granted, Remus wasn't an Auror by trade, only by circumstance. A reservist, I suppose. He'd proven himself in battle, however, and Dumbledore thought him quite capable, as did Snape, even if they were never going to be the best of friends. My heart was certainly warmed, however, by the handshaking I witnessed that day. Remus and Snape had at least called an indefinite truce. But war does have a tendency to bring out the best in people. I was under the impression even Sirius would gladly fight side by side with Snape against Voldemort, and vice versa.

I didn't realise the full implications of the situation then, but we were indeed at war. It didn't feel like a war. There was no rationing; there were no bombings or blackouts. But we were most certainly at war. It was more than Dumbledore against Voldemort, more than purebloods against Mud-bloods. This was a war of good against evil. And it was just as well I wasn't fully aware of the fact or I would have developed several ulcers owing to Remus' involvement. I was already quite on edge due to Snape's situation. The rest would have surely driven me over the precipice.

Thankfully I didn't know and, for the time being, I was free to concentrate on my studies until the end of term. My final marks in Potions were acceptable, though nothing spectacular, and I did surprisingly well in Defence Against the Dark Arts, thanks at least in part to my exceptionally handsome and attentive tutor. My Lamaze classes also went extremely well. Harry and I graduated from that class with exemplary marks, and we felt we were fully prepared when the time came. Hermione's parents had recently taken her for her driver's test, so she volunteered to drive us to the hospital when I went into labour. My first instinct was to be less than thrilled about the possibility of having a teenager drive me, but then I remembered which teenager this was. If Hermione put half the studying into her driving that she put into everything else, I knew we would be perfectly safe.