22A/N: I have no idea how long it took me to write this like 5 months or something? but I am sorry for taking so long. but apparently it needed Remus' biography on Pottermore to find my writing muse again I mean it worked so yep I hope you like it and I hope I won't take that long again because I am not okay with this... yep
Thirteen
Not much happened in august. Tonks and Remus spent most their time with Teddy, who definitely enjoyed the attention he got. Though it made Remus wonder how it would be when he started working again in september. Would his son miss him? Would he think he loved him less because he wasn't home all day anymore? Part of him knew these thoughts were ridiculous yet he couldn't stop thinking about it. And as september came nearer Tonks noticed a change in his behaviour, even though he tried to hide it.
Thus when a letter from Hogwarts arrived giving him his final instructions for the coming year, he wasn't as excited as he thought he'd be when he accepted the job offer in may.
"Good morning" Dora greeted her husband when she arrived in the kitchen with Teddy. Remus however didn't even notice her arrival. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern in her voice. Yes, Remus was often more the quiet person, but she had noticed a slight change in his mood over the past days and for some reason she feared he might get a wrong idea in his head.
She sat down on the chair next to him, putting Teddy on her lap and looking at her husband, who finally seemed to notice that he wasn't alone anymore.
"Everything is fine" he said but knew Tonks wouldn't believe it. She just knew him too well and the look she gave him told him he was right. "Got a letter from Hogwarts."
"And this is bad?" Dora asked trying to find out what bothered him
"No.. well I don't know actually not but maybe" he rambled and dDora, even though she was sort of concerned, couldn't suppress a grin appearing on her face. "I am not going to be home all day anymore, and of course that was clear before but it gets more real somehow right now. And I have to take a nightshift once in a while and I am not sure if I am willing to do that..."
"You mean I am not able to survive a night without you?" Tonks asked.
"You know perfectly well that that is not what I meant" he responded
"okay so there's more than one night per month when you're not home. and yes that might not be what you want but I think considering the fact that you do what you want to do like every day now I think it is okay" his wife told him. And he knew she was right.
...+++...
Having that settled Remus didn't entirely stop worrying but he managed to keep his worries under control during the last week of august.
Though on the night of august 31st he seemed unable to sleep all he wanted was his thoughts about anything that could possibly go wrong to shut up but they didn't. In fact they grew louder each passing minute. As Tonks didn't seem to wake up anytime soon and the clock told him that it was nearly 2am he decided to get up and try something else to calm his mind. [can I say that?] So he went into his son's room and just looked at the sleeping boy whose hair changed from time to time probably adjusting to his dreams.
How long he stood there he couldn't say but it sure helped calm him down. half an hour had passed without him noticing when a sleepy Tonks appeared in the doorway.
"What are you doing?" she whispered while walking into the room to stop behind her husband who turned around shrugging.
"Trying to calm down and be able to sleep" Remus said whereupon Tonks gave him a questioning look. "I mean I try not to think about it but what if something goes wrong again and it ends like it did last time?" after a few seconds of wondering what exactly Remus was talking about Tonks took one more step to close the remaining distance between the both of them and made him look at her. "It's going to be okay. You are a great person. A great teacher and people know that. Times have changed since last time. And should it unexpectedly end like last time then I am still here and I will not go anywhere."
Remus smiled at Dora, bowed his head and kissed her.
"If you don't leave now you'll be late at the feast" Tonks reminded her husband the next day. They stood in front of their fireplace but Remus hesitated to leave his family. "Yep" Remus said while caressing his son's cheek. He sighed, kissed his son's hair, which matched his hair colour, and then took Dora's face in his hands to kiss her properly.
"Just leave already" Tonks laughed, nearly pushing him in the fireplace. And with a last glance to his family waving good bye (Tonks whispering "say bye-bye, daddy" in her son's ear), he took some floo-powder, tossed it in the flames said "Hogwarts" and vanished in the green flames.
"So what are we going to do now, huh?" the metamorphmagus asked her son, who leaned his head against her shoulder, closing his eyes. "Ah sleeping. What a great idea."
Tonks put Teddy in his cot and then walked downstairs again. It felt odd being alone. Her mum was working and she couldn't recall a time where she was actually alone in the house besides the sleeping infant upstairs. So she took one of Remus' books and read for about 10 minutes until the silence of the house made her grow restless. She prepared some dinner for herself wishing she could be at the feats at Hogwarts right now and rocked her crying son back to sleep when he woke up. And while waiting for Remus to return she fell asleep on the couch.
Remus stepped out of the Fireplace in his office at Hogwarts, brushed some ash from his cloak and made his way to the Great Hall.
He was the last of the teaching staff to arrive, apart from Hagrid, who was at the train station to greet the first-class students, and saw some people who he didn't recognise but thought to be the new Professors for this year.
"I feared you might turn up late and give a bad example to the students" McGonagall greeted him.
"Well... I had some trouble getting ready to leave", Remus admitted.
"Either way, the students will arrive soon, so please take your seat at the table."
Remus nodded and took a seat on the right of professor Slughorn who greeted him with a warm smile. On his right sat one of the new Professors but before either of them could starts a conversation the voices of hundreds of teenagers grew louder and the Hogwarts students arrived. Remus noticed Hermione in a conversation with Ginny and Luna, who had to leave them to take her seat at the Ravenclaw-table. In fact he had supposed that more would take the opportunity to leave school but apparently Auror-training wasn't as popular as he thought. Soon after the students sat down Hagrid arrived, gave him a huge smile and sat down at the other end of the table.
After the new students were sorted in their houses and the sorting Hat was carried out of the Great Hall again, McGonagall stood up.
"I know you all probably want to eat something rather than listening to me but give me some minutes to properly welcome you to a new year at Hogwarts. The past few months have been difficult for everyone. Some of you had to decide, whether to re-take the year or not. Some of didn't get to decide what you probably thought not fair but we will try our best to let this year at Hogwarts go as normal as possible for you. And with that I want to introduce our new members of staff. As your Professor for Transfiguration, replacing me, Professor Dhalmer."
The guy next to Remus waved with his hand.
"For Muggle studies you will have Professor O'donell"
The woman next to Hagrid stood up, which made some people chuckle, as it was barely noticeable next to the half giant.
"And last but not least returning to Hogwarts to take his former position Professor Lupin for Defence against the Dark Arts."
And most of the people in 6th and 7th year started cheering, what made Remus smile and realise how much he had missed working at Hogwarts.
"And now-" McGonagall raised her voice again "I won't say more but: Eat up!" and the plates in front of the students and teachers filled with food.