Order Only: Private Message to Moony

[alt_sirius]

Bugger all.

No - before I get into that. I'm okay. Pomona's been seeing to me when she can, and Greenhouse 4, if you remember, has that little potting room off the main chamber, where I can hide during the one or two lessons she has to teach the NEWT students. I think a Gryffindor boy caught a glimpse of me just as I was arriving but I hid quickly enough. I haven't heard any other murmurs about it, and certainly no students have come out looking or approached the greenhouses with any sort of hesitation, so I think I dodged that hex.

It's something else, though. An owl.

Bugger.

Right, no good way to say it, so out with it, then. Fair's fair: You can take the piss all you like, mate, for how I reacted when I found out you'd gone and got my own cousin up the duff. Wand's in the other hand, now, isn't it?

Yeah. It's Terrie. She's

Well.

Bugger.

Look, don't - don't tell anyone else, will you? Not even Allie.

Bugger all. Complicated.

Comments

[alt_sirius]

I'm a father already, Moony. Sort of. Well, a step-father - godfather, whatever - though a poor one at that. Though Merlin knows it's not for not wanting to take care of Harry.

But what you've said about having to acknowledge the child and take responsibility for Terrie ... that's part of what's bothering me about this. I mean to say, don't you think it's awfully quick for her to realise, isn't it? How long did it take Dora to figure out her condition?

And you remember a while back, Terrie and I had a bit of a row about her wanting another child? And I told her all the reasons it would be a terrible idea?

I suppose I just wonder if she actually listened to me. Not a pleasant thought, I know. But she'd hardly be the first witch to trap a husband that way.

[alt_lupin]

Dora went in to see the healers at St Mungo's when she was a month or so along, because she'd been feeling under the weather and was worried that it was an after-effect of the illness she had before. Neither of us were expecting a pregnancy to be the real cause, as you know, so how soon she would have realised if she hadn't already been cautious about her health, I can't say.

If Terrie's been pregnant before though, I imagine she'd recognise the signs much sooner.

That's not to say she didn't plan it, I suppose. Is she that sort of person? It doesn't feel right to judge her behaviour when I've never even met the woman, but I know she must have a terribly difficult life. I can hardly blame her for wanting to find a way to hold on to a bit of happiness. Although it's perhaps not quite what you had in mind for yourself.

[alt_sirius]

Well, I don't know if I'd say you've never met her, Moony. For Morgana's sake, she and Gary were close enough, back in the day.

I suppose it's fair to say that she's changed, though, since all that. And since her Alicia died. Bound to have changed, hasn't she? And you're too right, her life's no picnic.

Speaking of which, the students have all been out on the grounds all day, celebrating May Day. (One reason I've not changed back - those bells! They're a bit too high-pitched for Padfoot's hearing.)

I don't know. I suppose I'm not as good as you are.

[alt_lupin]

I can't quite reconcile the Terrie you know with the girl we went to school with. So much has changed, for all of us, it feels like another life.

So what are you going to do?

[alt_sirius]

Did you see Minerva's last?

I suppose for the moment, the decision's been made for me.

I'm changing back to Padfoot. I can't do this without a decent spliff.

Too much to hope Pomona has some growing in here somewhere?