Looking up the street towards Aubrey's new house as he walked, Remus worried. He'd received an owl from Cho about Aubrey and baby Dominic, and had been through a transformation all in the one week. The relationship had changed now, and whether or not Aubrey was still willing to have all his fuss in her life now that she had a little one in her life was definitely up for debate in his mind.

He'd hesitated to owl Aubrey directly, and when he had gathered the courage it had been easier than he'd thought. But...

This is more nerve-wracking than the first date, he thought as he knocked on the door.

Aubrey answered the door, her hair still damp from the shower she had rushed to take before Cho had left for practice. She smiled as she saw Remus stand on the stoop. "Remus, come in." She opened the door wider, letting him slip through. "Welcome to Autumn Run." They stood there awkwardly in the front hall. She held her son, unsure if she should kiss him or not.

She growled softly in her throat, upset at her reactions. Obviously, some things had changed since they had seen each other last, but she shouldn't be afraid of kissing, dare she say it, boyfriend. Having a child shouldn't have done that to her.

"Remus," she smiled wider. "May I present to you, Dominic Andrew." She took a step closer, showing him the tightly wrapped bundle.

He stepped closer, leaning down to take a closer look at the baby in her arms. Dominic was as gorgeous as his mother was beautiful, and despite the sudden changes to the circumstances of the relationship Remus felt no urge to change his feelings.

"He's incredible," Remus breathed, before standing back up to look at Aubrey. "I'm so glad everything went alright. Things went a bit unexpectedly for a while there, but it seems like the two of you have settled in together well."

Aubrey made a face. "That's a bit of an understatement." She stroked the side of her son's face with a tip of her finger. "Would you like to hold him?"

The offer surprised her. She had a hard enough time letting Cho watch Dominic so she could take a shower, but now, without a second thought, was offering Remus the chance to hold him. Did he even have experience with babies?

Remus' eyes widened at the offer, and he grinned. "As long as you can let him go for a few moments."

At Aubrey's nod, Remus moved so that he could take Dominic into his arms. It had been a while since he last held a baby, but it was just like riding a bicycle - you couldn't ever really forget. Rocking gently, he took in the tiny frame, soft skin and wispy hair before catching Aubrey's eye. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you both sooner."

Aubrey shook her head, trying to discretely wipe tears from her eye. "It's okay. Did you and Zach, er, do okay?"

She looked at him, holding her son, and knew that she had fallen in love with Remus. Tit over arse in love. And there was nothing she could do to stop it, even if she had wanted to.

"We did alright. Nice to know I've still got it to be top of the pack, but I think Zeev misses the others." He looked from Aubrey back to Dominic. "Eka would be five by now. Wow."

Of all the things that had happened since the War, this moment had to be close to tops. It was quite muddling how comfortable he felt like this, Remus thought. Baby in arms, Aubrey before him. He looked up quickly. "Here I am, taking over your child and making you stand in the entry way. Did you want me to let you to your evening or may I invite myself for a cup of tea?"

She laughed weakly. "I'm no stranger to standing, but let me show you into the kitchen." Spinning on her heel, she was acutely aware of how close he was, but it didn't seem to bother her one bit. Settling herself into one of the kitchen chairs, she held her arms out for Dominic. "We were really lucky to get the house for what we did. I think the realtor was just so shocked at me going into labor, he didn't really pay attention to what he was doing. Cho glossed over the story. But suffice to say, it was good for us."

Remus busied himself in the kitchen, nodding as he held back a laugh. "The poor man! I bet he was just as shocked as you were. But I hope everything went smoothly, once you saw a healer? Cho assured me you were fine, but I worried nonetheless."

"For five weeks early, Dominic seems more than fine." Aubrey snuggled with her son. "I have to go back and see Ginny in a few weeks' time. I suppose she'll tell me when I can go back to work." She shifted nervously. "What do you know about this temporary librarian the Headmistress has brought in?"

"Not an awful lot, I'm afraid. But I do plan on meeting them and letting them know I'll be dobbing on them, should it come to that." Remus leant up against the bench as he waited for the tea to brew, wondering briefly what he could offer Aubrey to drink before realising it was her house and he had no idea what she had stocked. "Can I get you anything?"

Aubrey shook her head. "I'm fine. I suppose I should tell you I wrote a note, letting the person know that their job, is in fact, temporary and I will be checking up on them." She grinned. "Not the nicest note I've ever written, but it had to be done."

Using her foot, she pushed out one of the other chairs. "Come sit."

Walking over, cup of tea in hand, Remus wondered how much things were going to change between the two of them. It had been only recently that they'd even discussed a 'them', and he didn't want to stress Aubrey over the issue now. He sighed as he sat down, realising that he still had to learn to stop analysing and planning. Life would happen when it wanted. Dominic had certainly proved that.

They sat in silence for a while, Dom gurgling occasionally, making Aubrey smile which in turn brought a smile Remus couldn't hide. She's absolutely smitten, he thought.

Aubrey reached out for his free hand and captured it with hers, stroking the back of it with her thumb. "I'm glad you're here," she said, breaking the comfortable silence. "At first, I didn't know what to think when you didn't owl, but I should have remembered. You're not that type of person."

Remus nodded. "I worried for a while about whether or not I should, and by the time I'd made up my mind it was the full moon already. Although at this age I really shouldn't be using it as an excuse." He shifted in his seat to face her. "I understand that you have new priorities now, and I wondered whether I still made the list."

Frowning, Aubrey sighed. "I thought we discussed this. I mean, Dominic came earlier than either of us planned, but that's not necessarily a bad thing." She gave him a hard look. "If anything, this made me realize how not alone I am anymore. I don't know what I was thinking when I told myself I could do this without anyone by my side. I would have burnt out already."

She squeezed his hand. "Don't make me do this alone."

Remus squeezed back. "I wouldn't dare. I like my body in the piece it's in."

Aubrey grinned. "She used that threat on you, huh? She used it on my boyfriend in Hogwarts, but she's gotten more devious as the years go on." She trailed off, cursing herself silently in her head. Somehow, she doubted talking about ex-boyfriends while trying to figure out your currently relationship was the best course of action.

"I'd expect nothing less from a valued friend. That's the sort of thing they're good at, I think. Watching out for you, making threats in order to watch out for you... the trouble we used to get in at school, it would be embarrassing if it wasn't so helpful in dealing with my own students," Remus mused.

Aubrey smiled. "Somehow, I have a hard time imagining you getting into much trouble." Cocking her head to the side, her smile widened. "Of course, it's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for."

Thinking back to his time at Hogwarts, Remus laughed. "Although I'd prefer to think I was coerced into evil deeds, I'm sure that I instigated a good many unneccesary escapades. Now you, on the other hand... trouble maker, trouble taker or trouble evader?"

Aubrey shrugged. "I was too amazed by magic to even think about making trouble. I was always afraid about getting chucked out. Then I made the reserve quidditch team in my fourth year and the team on my sixth. By that time I was so wrapped up in practice and schoolwork, I doubt I would have the time." She grinned. "So long story short, I never had the mind to though i did enjoy the Weasley twins' pranks."

"They did end up doing pretty well for a couple of ratbags, for a while. I was sure Molly was going to go to her wits' end over those two, especially after the Swamp. I think that whole incident has it's own legend at Hogwarts now." Remus had almost forgotten how much younger Aubrey was than he, but he couldn't ignore her level-headedness and maturity. He didn't feel old when he was with her.

"Delores Umbridge is a horrible woman who never should have been allowed near children. While I would not normally approve of harassing an educator, she deserved everything she got." Aubrey crossed her arms. "Thinking back on what she did, I'd happily rip her apart with my bare hands."

Remus sat himself back in his chair, away from Aubrey, very deliberately. "Remind me to never get on your bad side. Between you and Cho, I"m not sure if I'll have anything left of me at all!"

Aubrey smiled sweetly. "You'll never see it coming," she promised. "But it seems Cho and I have two different agendas."

"Never expect the woman with the baby," Remus muttered to himself playfully. Noticing that Dominic had settled into a sleep, he lowered his voice. "Might it be a bad thing to ask about said agendas, or are there just some things a man shouldn't know?"

"My agenda for you?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious? We're sitting in my kitchen, drinking tea, or at least you are, having a pleasant conversation. I can't think of anything wrong with this scene."

Looking at the sleeping bundle in her arms, Remus grinned. "Neither can I."

Summary: Remus visits Aubrey, ostensibly to meet her son, and end up reaffirming their relationship.