Oh Merlin! It's Crying! }{ Remilda

[Remus 'Moony' Lupin]

The Courtyard was quiet, which was a rare and an almost never occurring event. So Remus Lupin was taking advantage of the quiet to be almost completely silent so he wouldn't wake up the little bundle of joy in his arms. He had even slowed his breathing to be as quiet as he could. He looked up from where he was sitting(on a bench, AWAY from the somewhat noisy fountain. A few times he had shifted and the 'baby' gave a tiny little grumble before resuming sleep. This scared him to no end but he wasn't going to start freaking out yet.

The reason Remus had a baby was because of Muggle Studies. It was a project to take care of a baby the muggle way. The doll had a charm on it to where the professor can see if any magic had been used. Remus wasn't worried because he had been told that babies weren't that hard to take care of(Oh how wrong he was to think that). Now, the reason he was in the Courtyard was that he was waiting for his partner. The Courtyard would have usually been a bad choice. A marauder could sneak up on him, not knowing he had a baby, and try to scare. He had considered this so he made sure they were all very busy.

Remus had actually never stopped to think who his partner would be (Well, he never thought very hard about it.). The professor assured him they would be boy/girl couples, which scared Remus to no end. How could he, and someone he didn't even know raise a baby( figuratively speaking) together if they didn't know each other's strengths and weaknesses? He hoped he was paired up with someone he knew. He thought about that for a moment before realizing that Lily was the only girl he really knew, and the prospect of working with her right after what happen was did not sound fun at all.

[Matilda Hoffman]

When Matilda had been told that she would be taking care of a baby the muggle way for Muggle Studies, she hadn't thought much of it. Since she had been sick the day that the assignment was given she had no idea who she was paired with... all she knew was that it would be a boy and that he was from another class of seventh years. Having three younger siblings Matilda had thought that taking care of a fake baby would be easy. Besides, her mother was a muggle and had taken care of her the muggle way... it couldn't be that hard. Then suddenly it dawned on her. She remembered her mother talking about being up all night with the kids and how her father had helped by getting up at times. She also remembered how messy babies were and how disruptive the babies were to normal schedules.

Oh Merlin, this was going to be a nightmare. She and her partner were obviously not going to be in the same room at night, so she would have to take the baby one night and he the next. So that meant that she would be dealing with a crying baby all night. She might not get sleep. This was going to wreak havoc on her schedule. All of these thoughts ran through Matilda's head as she reorganized the desk in her room. She had found one book out of place and this had prompted her to resort everything on her desk. Plus it helped get her mind off worries. Today reorganizing wasn't working. All she could think about was how horrible this assignment was. Did her teacher have no compassion on her? Hopefully her partner would be responsible and understanding.

Realizing that she was supposed to meet her partner in ten minutes, Matilda slipped on some shoes over her tights. Her outfit was rather interesting, but it reflected her personality. She wore grey shorts and a blue top. Preying that this whole project didn't kill her at that her partner would be good to work with she slipped out of the Hufflepuff common room and out to the courtyard. She saw a boy sitting on a bench and it looked like he was holding a baby sized bundle. Figuring that he was her partner she approached him with a friendly, but slightly worried air, about her. "Hello. You must be my Muggle Studies partner. I'm Matilda Hoffman." She introduced herself, holding out her hand for him to shake.

((Sorry for all the clothes links. I got in a clothes finding mood and had to get her a whole outfit. xD Also I figured it was a Saturday, so yeah.. that's what the non-uniform clothes are about.))

[Remus 'Moony' Lupin]

Remus had thought that his partner would be late, but to his surprise she showed up exactly the time they had scheduled. When she held out her hand he shifted awkwardly to balance the baby and offer his hand. At first he feared that it would wake up but he was relieved to find that it didn't stir at all. Now he had time to look up and see her. A pause followed and he tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked at her outfit. It was strange, but it fit her. "Remus Lupin..." He failed to keep the amusement in his eyes from showing.

As soon as Remus had started to speak the little bundle stirred in the one arm he was holding it with. The Gryffindor boy's eyes widened as a soft cry came from him. At first he thought it was good but the cry got louder and louder. He then switched the baby back into both of his arms and he finally started to panic as he should have in the first place. "Oh Merlin!" He said, frightened "Oh...." He trailed off. "Please. Please stop crying." He tried, even though he knew it was useless.

[Matilda Hoffman]

Matilda smiled when her partner introduced himself and she recognized who he was. Remus Lupin was the good friend of James Potter and Sirius Black. However, she knew that Remus was the serious one who did well in school, so she wasn't apprehensive about having him as a partner anymore. "Nice to meet you, Remus. And this is our little bundle of joy, I presume?" She asked, looking down at the 'baby' in Remus's arms. The amusement in Remus's eyes was apparent as he looked at her outfit and Matilda just smiled. "Like the outfit?" She joked, glancing down at her clothes. She knew that most people would never have thought to put the ensemble together and she was used to getting strange looks every now and then. Most of the time Matilda wore suitable outfits, but some days (like today) she felt like being a little wacky.

When the baby in Remus's arms gave a little cry, Matilda unconsciously took a defensive stance. Then when the baby started wailing, Matilda groaned inwardly. Not a good start to the project. Remus's frantic please towards the baby would have been funny if Matilda had not been feeling the same way. "Did you feed it? Wait, does it eat?" Matilda questioned, kneeling down to inspect the baby. "Here, let me try." She offered (quite bravely) as she took the baby from Remus's arms. She probably could do no more than Remus had, but it was worth a try. Bouncing the baby a bit, Matilda hoped that the cries would stop, but they just got worse. "Oh Merlin." The brunette suddenly said as she realized what could be the problem.

Putting the baby down on the bench, Matilda took the diaper off and nearly jumped back at what she saw. "It's dirty!" She cried and looked for somewhere to throw the diaper away. Did Remus have another one? Did he have plastic gloves she could wear? Where could she burn the gloves once she was done? Parenting was no easy job and Matilda was starting to feel an F coming towards this project.

[Remus 'Moony' Lupin]

Remus smiled as she paid attention to the baby. “Yeah, this is the little bundle of sunshine.” Although he didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl. He didn’t check, afraid of what he would see. Which shouldn’t be such a big deal with a baby but he still wasn’t going to take that chance. He looked back up as she asked about her outfit. He gave a small smile “It suits you.” He commented, a weird feeling rising in his stomach. She did have a small, wacky vibe to her. He looked over Matilda again. She wasn’t a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw. She seemed to nice to be a Slytherin (even though he knew some Slytherins did behave themselves from time to time). So she must have been a Hufflepuff.

Remus tried pleading yet again before Matilda took the baby from his hands. As the crying went on a headache followed. “No, I didn’t. And I don’t know what it eats.” He exclaimed, talking about it like it was an animal. The natural answer would have been baby food but he didn’t know much about it. He hoped that the child would quiet down in her arms but his hope was stripped away as it continued. The overwhelming feeling of helplessness took him over as the baby continued to cry while it was bouncing in her arms. He suddenly got the idea of what it might be “Merlin…” He said in unison with her.

As she put the baby down Remus crossed his fingers, hoping it wasn’t what they thought it was. When his fears were confirmed he felt his shoulders slouch in disappointment. “Uh….Uh..ok. We can just uh…” He reached down into his bag which held diapers and bottles instead of parchment and textbooks. He pulled a diaper out, along with some sort of powder, and some wipes. He set them down next to the baby and kneeled down. “I guess I’ll just…UGH!” He gagged as his nose finally acknowledged how bad it stunk. He took the dirty diaper and set it aside, wiped the babies bottom (which made him a little woozy), put some of that good smelling powder on it, and wrestled the new diaper on.

He stood up as the job was done. A wary look was aimed at the child before he realized that he had picked up the dirty diaper. He gave a yelp. “Get it away from me…” He said as he held it out as far away from him as possibly.

[Matilda Hoffman]

"Aw, it's cute." Matilda said, smiling at the baby Remus was holding. If she was going to do this project she might as well let some of her motherly instincts force their way out from under her need for order and cleanliness. When Remus commented that her outfit suited her, Matilda grinned and gave a fake curtsy. "Why thank you, Mr. Lupin. I try." She joked. "So you're a Gryffindor. I'm a Hufflepuff, in case you were wondering. We come to hug." She winked playfully at her partner and smirked.

Remus's response that he didn't know what the baby ate worried Matilda. They had to figure that one out, and fast, because if the baby got hungry (and she was positive it would at some point) they needed to know what to feed the thing. She wondered briefly if child services could arrest them if they neglected their baby or if they just got a grade on it. Of course, it wasn't a real baby so they probably had nothing to worry about except failing. And they were certain to do that if she kept on going off on tangents like that. Focus. Dirty diaper. Her worst nightmare.

As Remus took over changing the baby Matilda felt a small wave of relief wash over her. She was thankful that Remus seemed to know what he was doing, since it would make her experience less harrowing. After the fresh diaper was on, the baby's cries began to lessen and it looked up at Matilda and Remus with wide eyes. "Aw, she feels better now." Matilda said (it was evidently a girl). Picking the baby up, the brunette smiled at the baby and bounced her on her hip. This made the baby laugh and grab ahold of Matilda's hair. "Isn't she adorable." The Hufflepuff exclaimed, hugging the little 'bundle of joy' close to her, practically forgetting that the baby had been crying and forcing Remus to change her diaper just a second beforehand.

Seeing Remus freak out about the diaper, Matilda suddenly had a wonderful idea. She pulled out her wand and floated the diaper (dodging a few shocked first years) into the trash can at the other end of the courtyard. "There we go." She stated with a nod. Then she pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer from her pocket and handed it to Remus. "You were quite brave out there, soldier." She said with a twinkle in her eye. She really did mean it, but being Matilda she had to add a joke in there as well. The baby just laughed and pointed at Remus. "She's thanking you... Oh! We need to come up with a name for her!" Matilda exclaimed with excitement.

[Remus 'Moony' Lupin]

“My sentiments exactly...” Remus commented. He looked at the angel face in his arms and wondered how something so adorable was supposed to wreak so much havoc. He smiled though as she curtsied. She was cute. “I thought you were a Huff.” He said, using the term that he had heard before. As she winked he got a boyish smile on his face and he gently pushed on her arm. “You got the good part. All Gryffindors can do is be brave.” He teased, loving how he could get along with her so easily. It was different from when he had met most other girls.

As Matilda picked up their little bundle Remus almost glared at it. He wasn't going to be fooled by that baby. The once crying mess was now as happy as could be, and she was cute but he wasn't going to think that the next time she cried. But when she laughed Remus fell to putty, as if it really was his child. His boyish smile turned to a side swept grin. He looked upon the child as if she was the world, and for a moment he felt that way. “Yeah, she's gorgeous.” He said, suddenly wishing that the baby was back in his arms. But girls had soft spot for babies so he left well enough alone.

Remus sighed in relief as Matilda took the diaper away from him. He looked at her as she handed him some hand sanitizer. She worried about being clean, that was a good thing. He put some on his hands and got a triumphant look on his face. “Well, I do try my best.” He said in the same tone she had given him. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as the baby laughed and pointed at him. He cocked his head to the side and gave her a challenging look. “You think that's funny, do you?” He said in an affectionate tone. As the girl that stood before him mentioned that they needed to name the baby his head started reeling. “Well, it's go to be something unique...” He thought for a moment, as if there were a baby book in his head. “Trina means pure...But it's your choice. I've never really named anything before.”

[Matilda Hoffman]

"Yes indeed. I am a bonafide Huffleypuffly." Matilda answered Remus with a laugh. "Psh. Being brave has its good qualities. Though I have to admit that many Gryffindors take bravely much too far across the line of stupidity. But I'm sure you're not one of those people." The brunette gave Remus a sly smile as she spoke. Remus seemed nice, much like she had heard. Everyone always said that he was the quiet, studious one of the Marauders and she could see where people got that impression. However, it seemed to her that she could see a sparkle of boyish fun in Remus's eyes and she wondered what kind of havoc he could wreak if he wanted to. This idea amused her and she gave a little laugh without realizing. When she did realize her features looked a bit sheepish... her and her strange ways were always making people think she was either a bit loony or just cute.

Matilda saw the glare that Remus shot at the baby and she resisted the urge to laugh. She knew, from experience with her dad, that the next time that baby did something adorable Remus would forget that he had ever been mad. It seemed to be that way with men and their little girls, though this baby wasn't even real or Remus's real child, but it still would have the same affect on the Gryffindor. When the baby laughed and Remus started grinning and giving the baby an adoring look, Matilda shook her head fondly and congratulated herself on being right. "Do you want to hold her again?" She asked Remus, thinking that Remus would probably like to get in some holding time while the baby was happy.

"That's good. We need that sort of dedication on the battlefield." Matilda replied to Remus and then laughed. She was glad that Remus was the kind of person she could joke around with, because if he had been the stoic type it would have made the project extremely awkward. At Remus's remark the baby just laughed and tugged on Remus's hair. Matilda laughed at this and winked at the baby. "I guess she likes your hair." She stated fondly. "Trina. Hm. Sounds good. I also like the name Adelaide. So hows about Trina Adeliade?" The Hufflepuff suggested with a twinkle in her eye. She loved naming things... simply adored it. She had even named inanimate objects that were in her possession. Her wand's name was Dorothy and she had gotten quite a few confused looks when she had addressed her wand as such.

[Remus 'Moony' Lupin]

Remus smiled as she spoke again and his eyebrows rose “Hufflepuffly? Is that what you kids are calling it now?” He shook his head at himself. He sounded like an old man sometimes, and most of the time he didn't even acknowledge it. “I'd like to think that you're right. I don't think I ever crossed the 'stupidity' line. I'll leave the line crossing to my friends.” He laughed as he thought of all the times he had woken up in the middle of the night just to realize that his friends were getting ready to roam the castle. Eventually he stopped trying to convince them not to go out and just went back to sleep whenever he saw them up. He never wanted any part of it. Although that had dragged him out, unwillingly, a few nights. He gave Matilda one more complimenting look at her clothing.

Remus felt his mouth open a bit as she offered to give the baby back to him. He shook his head. “She probably doesn't like me. I'm just...” He suddenly gave up. Well, he would figure out if the baby like him or not. He oh-so-carefully took the bundle of joy away from Matilda. For a moment they just stared at each other, eyes wide, and then he made a funny face and the baby laughed. It was like ringing bells. And, at first, he was in awe of the laugh and how it seemed to make him want to melt. Then he wished that someone would have warned him that a child's laughter was contagious because he started laughing along with his little project. .

Remus had finally calmed down his laughter before Matilda started laughing, and then he started all over again. His laughter came to an abrupt halt as he felt his hair being tugged. He instantly stiffened, hoping that his little girl wouldn't start drooling on his hair. He tired to pull his head up a little but the little girl had a strong grip. So he stayed in the awkward looking position. It would have been awkward feeling but something in his werewolf blood made him a bit more flexible than the average person. “Yeah, a lot of girls seem to like my hair.” he joked. Usually the joke would work if the person saying it had an ego the size of London but he didn't so it sounded kind of weird. “Trina Adelaide. How do you like that?” He said, adding in a funny face after. Trina laughed again and he couldn't help but join in, his bass laughing in tune with her soprano one. All he knew was that, so far, he loved being a dad. He then took his eyes off Trina to look at Matilda again. He smiled “Well isn't this a nice photo, wifey?” He didn't mean to add the 'wifey' part but he seemed to not even know that he said it.