Chapter Text
March 16th, 1980 was both the best and the worst day of Remus Lupin’s life.
His day had begun with a promotion to assistant manager in the office he worked at and obtaining his favorite doughnut from the office kitchen when he’d gone to get a cup of coffee. In fact, this was probably the best start to a day he’d had in a long time.
Of course, it wasn’t as if his home life was atrocious, it was quite the opposite, really. His girlfriend of three years, Mina Harmon, was pregnant with his child and, although he worried about complications with her or the child turning out to be a werewolf, he was ecstatic overall. She was a muggle and about the same age as him but she accepted him completely and entirely without question. It’d taken him a while to tell her, mostly considering that she was a muggle and would likely become afraid or believe that he was lying to her, but nothing like that happened and he was more than grateful to her for accepting him. But, considering the chaos regarding Mina’s pregnancy and preparing for the new baby, Remus hadn’t had a pleasant’s night sleep in a short while.
Shortly after lunch, Remus received a call from Mina, telling him that she’d gone into labor and was heading to the hospital. He was, of course, thrilled to hear the news and raced to the hospital where she was. It took hours before Mina was even close to delivering their child, and once she was, one of Remus’s worst fears was confirmed.
It happened quickly, one second Mina was squeezing the life out of his hand, crying out in pain as she came closer to bringing their bundle of joy into the world, and the next second, her heart rate was declining and doctors were all over her. Remus remained by her side, terrified of what could possibly happen next, and praying to anything that would listen for the safety of Mina and their child. It took another thirty minutes of complete chaos, but soon, their darling daughter, Anaya Lily Lupin, was brought into the world and placed gently into Mina’s arms.
She gave the infant a tired smile, her eyes drooping as she gazed down at her. “My beautiful Anaya.”
Her heart rate continued to decrease and with her final moments, she looked at Remus and said, “Please, take care of our baby girl. Promise me that you will.”
Remus nodded with a sharp intake of breath, tears threatening to cascade down his cheeks. “I promise, love. Until I take my last breath.”
Mina smiled, her eyes drooping lower with each passing second, until she finally let them shut, leaving Remus and Anaya behind. Remus let out a sob, taking his child from her arms as nurses rushed in and attempted to revive her, with no luck. As he held his daughter to his chest, he was confident that he’d never let anything happen to her, so long as he lived.
If only he could.