Chapter 744: Newborn
Chapter 744: Newborn (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
Liam was bewildered to see someone visiting at this hour, especially since almost everyone was preparing for the impending war. A casual visit seemed highly unusual under these circumstances.
However, no matter how ill-timed the visit, it was impolite to keep a guest waiting at the door. So, Liam quickly returned to the Manor with Hermione to welcome their visitor.
When the Manor's door opened, Liam found Lupin standing there. Unlike his usual calm demeanor as the leader of the Werewolves, Lupin's face was flushed with excitement, and he was wearing a black velvet robe embroidered with silver threads. His usually tidy gray hair was unusually disheveled.
Upon seeing Liam and Hermione, Lupin eagerly shook Liam's hand and exclaimed, "It's a girl! We named her Andromeda, after Dora's mother! A healthy and beautiful baby."
"This is—Tonks—Tonks gave birth?" Hermione screamed, covering her mouth with both hands and widening her eyes.
"Indeed, she did! She gave birth to a baby!" Lupin shouted, his voice drawing the attention of Rose Crystal and the Miniature Dolls who had come to visit today. Soon, a chorus of cheers and sighs of relief filled the air at the front door.
"Let's go inside; don't stand in the doorway", Liam said, leading everyone into the Manor's living room. Along the way, Lupin seemed to be floating on air, his face even more flushed.
"Yes, it's a girl. Dora started having contractions early this morning. Cho Chang arrived quickly and gave her some pain-relief and nerve-calming potions—though not too much, to avoid affecting the baby. Taylor and I waited at the door for about five or six hours, and finally, the baby was born safely, and both mother and daughter are resting at home."
"Congratulations! Oh my, a newborn, a—new life has been born." "Is this the greatness of life?" the Miniature Dolls chirped, their excitement more palpable than Lupin's. For these special beings, the birth of any new life was a joyful event, almost a miracle.
Liam was initially surprised by the news, as he remembered clearly from the original story that Lupin's first and only child was a boy. But given how much had changed, it made sense that the newborn's gender could also be different.
"By the way, Hermione", Lupin said after sipping a cup of black tea to calm down, turning to Hermione, "would you be willing to be the godmother?"
"Me?" Hermione pointed at herself, incredulous. In her mind, godmothers were typically mature, older women, not young girls like her, who were not yet 20.
"Yes, you", Lupin nodded emphatically. "Of course—during our discussions before I left, Dora and her parents fully agreed to this. Everyone believes no one is more suitable—"
"Well—yes—of course, that would be wonderful—oh my, I can't believe it", Hermione said, clearly excited and happy. "We should celebrate a little, relax a bit."
With that, she instructed the robots to fetch a bottle of Elven Honey Wine from the wine cellar downstairs, a drink that wouldn't get anyone drunk, and poured it into everyone's tall glasses. Once the last glass was filled, everyone stood up, and the Miniature Dolls hovered in the air, level with everyone's shoulders. They all raised their glasses in a toast.
"To Andromeda, Dora, and Lupin", Lupin said, "a great Witch in the making!" After his words, everyone echoed, "To Andromeda, Dora, and Lupin", and drank their glasses dry.
"By the way, who does she look like?" Rose Crystal asked, clasping her hands together and looking at Lupin with wide eyes. "I read in a book that human babies usually resemble their father or mother."
“I think she looks like Dora, but Dora thinks she looks like me. She doesn’t have much hair, and it looked black when she was born, but I swear it turned ginger within an hour. It will probably be golden by the time I get back. Her grandmother said Tonks’ hair started changing color on the first day she was born.” Lupin drained his glass. “Oh, another one, please,” he added with a smile, and the robots quickly refilled his cup.
Next, the Miniature Dolls started asking all sorts of curious questions, and Lupin smiled as he answered each one. When the robots brought some tea snacks, these little creatures were distracted, and Lupin turned to Liam in surprise. “They are actually real, living Life? That’s incredible.”
In the magical world, there are many creations with a certain level of intelligence. The Sorting Hat at Hogwarts is one such example, along with the ancient Portraits in Hogwarts and some Pureblood Family homes, and the Mirror at The Burrow that comments on people’s attire. However, these objects have cores that store memories rather than souls.
This means their intelligence is limited to the knowledge imparted to them by their creators. For instance, the Sorting Hat, crafted by the four founders, sometimes seems almost human, and the Portraits, trained by successive Headmasters, can provide valuable insights to newcomers. But the Mirror, at most, can only comment on whether someone’s outfit is appropriate.
However, they all share one common trait: they lack souls. This means their knowledge is fixed at the moment of their creation, and all their responses are based on this limited knowledge. They never update their knowledge or develop a true sense of self.
This was why Lupin was so shocked. He had seen the Rose Crystal, who fought alongside Ryan and the others, but had assumed she was just another intelligent magical puppet like the Sorting Hat, so he hadn’t paid much attention to her.
But after chatting with the Miniature Dolls out of curiosity, he was astonished to discover that these Puppets actually had self-awareness, meaning they had souls. This revelation left Professor Lupin utterly amazed.
“Of course, they are as real and alive as you and I, just with a different appearance. The one who usually follows me in purple is my sister, and the others are my teacher’s daughters,” Liam explained, noticing Lupin’s surprised expression.
“This is truly amazing!” After marveling at the Miniature Dolls for a while, Lupin bid farewell to Ryan and the others. “I think I should head back now. This outing has taken longer than I expected, and I’m worried my family will be anxious waiting for me.”
With that, Lupin put on the robe he had taken off earlier and said to Ryan and the others, “Goodbye, goodbye—over the next few days, I’ll try to bring some photos—your friends will be thrilled to know I met you all.”
He tied the belt of his robe and began to say his goodbyes, especially taking the time to shake hands with each of the Miniature Dolls floating in the air. Then, with Liam and Hermione watching, he walked out of the gate and disappeared.
“News of a new Life’s birth should be a good sign, right?” Hermione said softly, watching Lupin Apparate away. “Why do I suddenly feel the weight of my responsibilities has grown heavier.”
“Perhaps it’s because you’ve become a godmother and are now thinking like an elder,” Liam said slowly. “Humans are like that; once they have children, they start considering their futures. And since we are in the middle of a war, you naturally feel the need to end it quickly to create a better dimension for the children.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Hermione nodded after a moment’s thought. “I just hope the final battle will break out soon.”
(End of Chapter)
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