The Right Name
Marlene and Remus were sat in their bedroom with the bassinet next to Marlene on the bed. Their little baby girl was two weeks old now, but they still couldn’t settle on a name. So, they had decided that they weren’t going to leave this room until their daughter had a name.
Remus was sitting on the floor leaning against the bed and he had twelve books open at various pages trying to find a good name for their daughter.
Even though she was only two weeks old, the baby was a perfect cross between her two parents. She had Marlene’s dark green eyes, and her soft baby har was the exact same mousy brown colour as Remus’. She even had the McKinnon nose like her grandfather and her Uncle Stefan.
‘Why can’t we just give her a normal name,’ sighed Marlene, ‘Harry has a normal name. even Neville’s not that unusual.’
‘Lily and James didn’t have all this trouble naming Harry. And then Frank and Alice just named Neville after Alice’s father.’
She was hardly the first baby to be born into the Order over the last few years. Harry and Neville their best friends’ children were nearly a year old now.
‘Because Marls,’ said Remus flicking through a copy of Wizarding Genealogy, ‘neither of our families give our children usual names. For Merlin’s sake, our parents are called Lyall, Hope, Cressida and Ignatius.’
‘Stefan got off easy,’ laughed Marlene, ‘I keep trying to tell him that.’
‘How about we name her after one of the stars then? Like you your mate Sirius?’
‘Don’t you think that’s rather Blackesque?’ asked Remus raising his eyebrows slightly.
‘Too elitist and pretentious?’ asked Marlene, ‘you’re right Remi.’
‘We’re going to be stuck here all day, aren’t we?’ sighed Marlene leaning back in the sofa and closing her eyes. She was just so tired. But she was going to a dinner at her parents’ house that night, and she didn’t want to go to the dinner without having named the baby.
It was the McKinnon’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary tonight, and Marlene was going to theirs for dinner with her parents, and her younger brother Stefan who had had his ninth birthday a few months ago.
Remus would usually go to the McKinnon’s with Marlene, but Remus had had a rough night with the full moon the night before, so he was going to stay home with the baby and his parents and rest.
Remus and Marlene actually lived in Remus’ old room at the Lupins, and currently their daughter was still sleeping in their room as she was only two weeks old. When she got older, they were going to turn the boxroom into the nursery.
‘Mum wants to call her Endora,’ chuckled Remus.
‘Endora?’ asked Marlene confused, ‘I thought Hope was a muggle, where did she find an obscure name like that.’
‘Endora is an interfering mother-in-law, on a television show she used to watch when I was growing up. She was a witch who used to pop in her daughter unexpected and tried to make her human son-in-law’s life a living hell.’
‘She sounds delightful,’ smirked Marlene, thanking her lucky stars that her own mother-in-law was nothing like that.
‘She was rather entertaining,’ chuckled Remus, ‘but I don’t think our daughters an Endora.’
‘So unusual,’ muttered Remus, flicking through the books on the floor, ‘but not too pure blood.’
‘I’ve got it,’ he exclaimed getting up to go and get another book out.
He walked over to the bookcase and pulled out one last book. His Mum had given it to him before he started at Hogwarts, The Collected Works of William Shakespeare.
‘I think it’s time to give Mr Bill Shakespeare a go,’ said Remus passing the book to Marlene.
Remus picked the baby out of her bassinet and cradled her, as Marlene opened the book to random pages and read out names.
‘Juliet?’
‘Nope.’
‘Miranda?’ suggested Marlene.
‘No,’ said Remus shaking his head.
‘Miranda Lupin doesn’t quite fit does it,’ sighed Marlene.
‘Hermione?’
‘I’ll bear it in mind,’ said Remus.
‘Oh look!’ exclaimed Marlene, ‘there’s a Cressida!’
‘Your mother does have a lovely name Marles,’ nodded Remus looking down at the baby in his arms.
‘But I don’t think she looks like a Cressida.’
‘Agreed,’ said Marlene shaking her head.
‘Ophelia,’ said Marlene opening the book one last time.
‘Ophelia,’ said Remus softly as the baby clutched onto his finger with her tiny hand.
‘It says here, she’s the girlfriend of Hamlet, and she commits suicide,’ said Marlene reading the summary of Hamlet. ‘Charming girl!’
‘Ophelia Hope Lupin,’ said Remus.
‘What do you think little one?’
The baby blew a tiny spit bubble at Remus, which made him laugh.
‘Ophelia Hope Lupin it is,’ laughed Remus.
‘Thank Merlin for that,’ sighed Marlene in relief, ‘if I had to put up with Sirius, James and Peter calling our daughter Baby Moony for one more day I was going to scream.’
Sirius, James and Peter were still annoyed at Remus for not picking them as godparents, but a baby girl needed a godmother, not a godfather. So Marlene had picked her best friend Pandora, who had actually had her own baby back in February.
‘They’re still going to call her that you know,’ said Remus.
‘Oh, I know Remy,’ laughed Marlene, ‘but I was actually starting to consider filling in her birth certificate Baby Moony Lupin.’
‘Certainly unusual,’ laughed Remus, ‘maybe if we have another one, we can call them Baby Moony.’
‘Evening all!’ called Lyall as he came in through the front door downstairs.
‘Merlin is that the time!’ gasped Marlene leaping off the bed.
They had been up there trying to find a baby name for Ophelia all afternoon, and Marlene had to go to her parents soon.
Remus and Marlene pulled themselves up, and headed downstairs, Remus carrying Ophelia’s little basket.
They went into the kitchen, where Hope was busy making a chicken salad for dinner. It was a hot July evening, so they weren’t going to be wanting to eat anything too heavy.
‘And how’s my little granddaughter this evening?’ beamed Lyall taking the bassinet from Remus.
‘She has a name you know,’ said Marlene.
‘Does she now?’ asked Lyall lifting Ophelia up to cradle her.
‘Ophelia Hope Lupin,’ said Remus.
‘Hope?’ gasped Hope nearly dropping the salad bowl.
‘Yes,’ laughed Marlene.
‘Our little hope in the darkness,’ said Remus.
‘Oh Remi!’ gushed Hope squeezing him in a huge hug.
‘You’re hurting me,’ stammered Remus who was already hurting from the full moon.
‘Sorry Cariad,’ she laughed kissing Remus on the forehead.
‘I should get going,’ said Marlene grabbing her cloak.
‘I’ll see you tonight Remi,’ she said kissing him.
‘Be safe,’ he told her walking to the front door.
‘I will be,’ said Marlene.
‘I’ll be back by nine,’ she told him.
‘Promise?’ asked Remus stroking her cheek.
‘I swear,’ said Marlene.
‘We’ll be done with dinner by half seven, I’ll be home by nine.’
‘If I’m not back by eleven you can send a search party,’ she giggled.
‘Don’t worry I will,’ said Remus laughing and kissing her one more time before she apparated away from the house.