If You're Happy and You Know It

Written by Chibikan

Introduction and Disclaimer: In the exciting, and of course adorable, sequel to Hush Little Baby, Tom Riddle has his first year of a new life with his new adopted father, Harry Potter. Hilarity is bound to ensue as Tom slowly crawls out of his shell imposed by his life at the orphanage. Reasons for the boy's advanced intelligence are revealed and new challenges bring new heartaches. Can Harry and Baby Tom conquer the world's hurdles with the bond that only a father and his son can share? Or is it destined to lead only to tragedy?

I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS SAVE FOR ANY YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE

"Down by the station early in the morning," Harry sang.

"Dee da wittle pupper belwies aw in a wow." Baby Tom answered, a gleeful grin on his face.

They were on their way to Hogwarts. Only ten minutes had past since they had entered the special compartment reserved for Harry, Tom and any two they chose to admit, and already a train-inspired sing-a-long had broke out. Tom bounced on Harry's lap while Harry sang, way out of tune. Hedwig hooted along (possibly to drown out her tone-deaf owner). And Ron and Hermione, well they humored them.

"Harry," Hermione whispered when Tom finally settled down for his nap. "You've done a really good job through the last two months. He absolutely adores you.

Harry covered Tom with his cloak as he slept on the side of the bench nearest the window. "He's a good kid." he stated simply. "He doesn't exactly make it difficult."

Hermione put a finger to her chin. "Hmmm, he seems very advanced for his age," she analyzed. "Perhaps, that could be leftovers from his adulthood. Do you think?"

Harry shook his head. "Nah, Dumbledore said Tom was always very intelligent for his age. My guess is, he was forced to, in order to survive in that hovel they dare to call a children's home." He looked at the sleeping child. "That would also explain why he's so well-behaved for a two year old. Most two-year olds I've heard of, are usually into everything." He looked at his friends. "Thanks guys, for helping me with him, by the way."

Just then there was a tap on the door and it slid open. Lupin came rushing in. "Harry?" He'd returned from his honeymoon the night before, having been gone since the beginning of the summer. He hadn't even known the battle was taking place.

Harry instantly grew nervous. Remus didn't know about Tom. How could he, he'd been in Bora Bora with Tonks all summer. Doing what, he didn't want to know. What would Remus say when he found out?

Lupin enveloped his arms around Harry. "Harry, I am so sorry I wasn't here for the final battle." He was so angry with himself. Here, his best friend's son was in mortal danger, and he was on vacation. "I should never have left you here to fight alone."

Harry simply shrugged and pulled away. "Hey, you and Tonk were safe, that's all that matters. I was the only one who could defeat Voldemort, so there was no reason for you to be there." This was going to be awkward. "And everything was alright so…" His attempts to reassure his former professor were diverted as Tom began to whimper and murmur in his sleep. Harry took a moment to stroke the boy's hair comfortingly, effectively drawing Lupin's own attention to the child. Neither noticed as Ron and Hermione sneaked out of the compartment.

"Harry, why do you have a child with you? Who is he"

Sweat formed on Harry's brow as he tried to think of a way to explain this. "Well, umm, uhhh, this is my son…"

"Son?" Lupin fought to keep his voice down. "Oh, Harry, don't tell me that you and Miss. Weasley….when you were together…oh Harry."

Harry raised his hands to calm the man. "No, it's not like you think. I adopted him, after the battle."

Lupin gave Harry a confused look. "Why?" Something wasn't right here. Harry had never expressed a desire to adopt.

Harry looked at Tom. "Remus, when Voldemort and I fought that battle, our wands linked again. We both had attempted the killing curse. It was close but I managed to beat it back." He paused.

Lupin shook his head, trying to understand where this was heading. "And what does that have to do with the kid?"

Harry bit his lip. "When my half of the curse hit Voldemort, instead of killing him, he….was turned into a two-year old." He saw Lupin's mind begin to piece together what he was saying and added quickly. "He got a second chance, Remus. And he was all alone. The ministry wanted to kill him but….he's just a baby." He looked away. "Please understand."

AN: Harry's just dropped a bombshell on Remus Lupin. How will Remus handle this news? Will he be able to accept Harry's adoption of the murderer of his best friends?