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Prologue

“Hey Moony, how was Christmas?” James Potter asked casually as he stepped into his friend’s compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He looked at Moony again, only to see that he was asleep against the train window. “Some things never change.” He had fallen asleep on the train every year since James had known him. Moony always said trains were his weakness.

“N-no…I’m sorry…” he murmured in his sleep, his eyelids flickering as if he were dreaming. Two other boys stepped into the compartment just after he said this.

“Moony talking in his sleep again Prongs?” Sirius asked as he sat beside Moony. He looked a bit paler than usual, but otherwise there was no difference in his demeanor.

“Yeah, apologizing,” James said with a furrowed brow. The other boy sat beside him. “You get that broom for Christmas, Pete?”

“Nah, Mum made the same old excuses. ‘We’ve got no money Petey! How do you expect me to buy you a two hundred Galleon broom?’” Peter Pettigrew said in a shrill imitation of his mother’s voice. Moony began moaning in his sleep, his head moving fitfully. He was obviously having some sort of nightmare.

“Just a little girl…accident…” he said in an anguished voice. Sirius looked at him with fear in his eyes. Now all of the boys looked frightened. The full moon had been over Christmas, and they all had felt guilty about not being there for their friend.

“Remus, wake up,” Sirius said, putting a hand on Remus’s shoulder and shaking it lightly. With a shuddering gasp that suggested he had been doused in cold water, Remus Lupin awoke.

“What, what do you want?” he asked, leaning forward wearily and running a hand through his hair. His Auburn eyes were rimmed with red and slightly bloodshot.

“Wanted to see how your Christmas went,” Sirius said casually with a shrug. Remus scowled and looked out the window, looking anywhere but in Sirius’s eyes.

“It was…the worst holiday I have ever had in my life,” he muttered, his face falling into his hands. “My mum left us again.” The three other boys groaned sympathetically and patted Remus’s shoulder consolingly. “There’s worse than that…” Remus gulped and blinked furiously, “…I…I bit…I bit a little girl, you guys.” The alarm of the Marauders was intensified as their friend broke down into tears.

“You b*****d,” Sirius breathed out. Everyone looked at him, half expecting him to grin and shout ‘just kidding!’ but he didn’t. His face was as set as stone. “You bit my cousin, Dora.”

“Oh my god,” Remus moaned, putting his face back into his hands with shaking shoulders. “No, no, no, no, NO! I didn’t want this to happen…this is why I distance myself.”

“Distancing yourself from us wouldn’t have stopped you from biting my sweet innocent little cousin, you son of a b***h!” Sirius shouted.

“Padfoot, you’re out of order!” James said sharply.

“Don’t Padfoot me, James,” Sirius said loudly, standing up in his anger. James stood up as well, both boys a perfect match.

“What is with all the shouting?” a female voice said outside the corridor. Lily looked in the compartment, took in Remus’s anguished form and Sirius and James’s clenched fists, and her eyes widened. “What’s going on in here?”

“This son of a b***h werewolf bit my cousin!” Sirius said, pointing accusingly at Remus. Remus’s hand dropped to between his knees, but he didn’t raise his head.

“Sirius,” he said slowly, his voice shaking and hoarse, “you know…you know that I cannot control what I do while I am a…a…” he swallowed, “monster.”

“You’re a werewolf?” Lily asked with raised eyebrows. Remus finally looked up and stared evenly into her eyes.

“Yes,” he said with tears falling from his eyes, “I am a werewolf, Lily. And yes, I bit your cousin Sirius. I made sure to go down to the hospital and see her the moment I knew what had happened. I told her what she should expect, and I told her I was sorry, and she forgave me. And now, I am going to court in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in three weeks. Is that enough for you Sirius?” Sirius and Remus stared at each other for a very long time, before the lesser finally sat down.

“How about we forget about fighting, but I can hold this over your head every time we argue?” he suggested in serious tones. Remus chuckled weakly with tears still evident in his eyes and nodded.

“What are you going to do about the trial?” Lily asked, forgetting about her hatred of James and sitting with them all. “Do you think Dumbledore could vouch for you?”

“Dumbledore’s done enough for me already,” Remus said shortly, “and the only person who could get me acquitted is the bite victim herself, and she’s still in hospital.”

“Do you think she would aid your defense?” James asked.

“I dunno, and I don’t want to ask her to,” Remus said with a small shake of his head.

“I could ask her, she’s got a mirror like mine and James’s,” Sirius offered helpfully. He pulled his out of his trunk quickly. “Nymphadora Tonks,” he said clearly, and a little girl’s tired face showed in the mirror’s surface.

“Sirius, I got a really cool scar!” she said excitedly. She held up her hand to show tooth-marks around the base of her thumb. “Mummy and Daddy say I can go home tomorrow, too!”

“That’s pretty cool Dorrie,” Sirius said with a grin. Remus looked down at the similar scar around his own thumb, where he had been bitten by Greyback.

“I’m just like him,” he breathed out in a horrified voice. Lily linked her arm through his and looked at him questioningly.

“Who was that?” Dorrie asked, twisting her head to see around the compartment. “Remus, that you?” she asked with hope in her little voice. Sirius handed him the mirror.

“She wants to talk to you, mate,” Sirius said bracingly and Remus tried to push the mirror back at him. With a small sigh Remus took it and smiled in a half-hearted way.

“Hey Dorrie,” he said cheerfully.

“You look sad,” Dorrie said without hesitation. Sirius grinned; his cousin had always been very perceptive.

“I am sad,” Remus said matter-of-factly. “I still regret what I did, and I probably will for the rest of my life.”

“But…it was an accident, you didn’t do it on purpose,” Dorrie said confusedly. “It would be different if you weren’t sorry about it, but I’m okay, so you don’t have to be sad anymore!”

“Well…I need some help from you Dorrie,” Remus said slowly. “Because of what I did, I am going to go to court in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in a few weeks.”

“You got in trouble? Are you gonna be grounded?” Dorrie asked worriedly.

“Much worse than being grounded, I’m afraid,” Remus said with a sad smile.

“But that’s not fair! You didn’t mean to do it! What if I told them?” Dorrie said quickly, worry evident in her eyes. “You’re so nice, why would anyone think you were bad?”

“I was actually hoping you would help me in trial, if you’re up to it by then,” Remus said shyly. Dorrie grinned broadly.

“Of course I w—!”

“Nymphadora, who are you talking to?” a woman asked as she entered the room.

“I’m talking to Remus, Mummy! I’m gonna help him in court!” Dorrie said cheerfully. Remus practically threw the mirror back at Sirius.

“Nymphadora, I don’t think that would be the best idea,” Andromeda said gently, reaching for the mirror. “He is the reason you are a werewolf, after all…” The surface of a table fast approached the mirror, and then it turned back into an ordinary mirror.

“I’m doomed,” Remus said morosely, dropping his face back into his hands.

“No, you aren’t!” Lily protested, pulling him back up straight. “I could speak in your defense, I’ve known you for seven years and you’ve never shown me even the slightest trace of unkindness!”

“Same here mate,” James said bracingly. “’I mean, sure you get a little irritable around your time of the month—” Peter sniggered and Sirius hit him, “—but that’s perfectly understandable!”

“I’ll go too,” Peter and Sirius said simultaneously.

“Thank you,” Remus said gratefully, smiling at his friends.

***

“The court has reached a verdict in the case of Remus John Lupin against the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures,” the judge droned. Remus looked up, shaking, but felt a bit better when his father put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“What is your verdict?” John Lupin asked gravely.

“The court finds Remus Lupin…innocent,” the judge said finally. The Marauders (minus Remus) and Lily jumped up and cheered, taking turns hugging Remus tightly. Remus smiled broadly, and turned to the witness stand with a grin on his face. He walked over there and picked up the little five year old girl from the bench.

“Thank you Dorrie,” he said as he embraced her tightly. The little girl wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

“You’re welcome Remus,” she said with an equally large smile. Remus had thought she would change her mind about defending him after her first transformation, but that had only seemed to make her more determined to help him. She now understood his pain.

***

“Dorrie,” Remus breathed out slowly as he opened his eyes. That had been nearly eighteen years ago.

“Moony, are you awake?” Sirius asked as he came into the room. Remus bolted upright from where he had been lying on the floor and stared at him. “Oh, last night full moon then? Well, I’m afraid there’s no time to dawdle, Dumbledore’s calling together the Order again.”

“What, why?” Remus asked quickly, reaching for the pair of pants his old friend held out to him.

“He’s back,” Sirius said, his voice echoing throughout the empty room. Remus looked up sharply. Only one person being back could cause such melancholy in Sirius’s voice.

“Back?” Remus asked anyway. He had to be sure, after all.

“Yes,” Sirius said quietly. Remus dropped to sit on the battered mattress that was on the floor, and Sirius followed suit. They sat in silence for a few minutes, memories echoing through time and space, rushing toward them like the roar of a train.

“How…how d’you…?” Remus asked weakly, looking to Sirius for answers.

“Harry,” Sirius said simply. Remus nodded silently. “Come on, we should get going, the meeting’s at the Weasleys’ place.” With that, Remus pulled on a tattered white T-shirt and Apparated with Sirius to the Weasleys’.

Chapter 2

“So you asked her on a date instead of asking her to join the Order?” Sirius asked casually, looking up from the Ministry blueprints Dumbledore had sent them the day previous.

“It’s not a date, she thought of the restaurant, not me!” Remus said quickly. Sirius shot him an unconvinced look.

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t a date, my friend,” he said, turning back to the papers. “I know my cousin, and I know that she’s been crazy over you since she met you when she was three.”

“But then she got bitten by me when she was five, which would damper a few feelings. And besides, she’s twenty-two now; she has probably outgrown any sort of feelings she had previously,” Remus pointed out.

“Both that, or they’ve matured with her and she’s more deeply in love with you than ever before,” Sirius countered. Remus stared at him with his eyebrows vanishing into his hair from Sirius’s understanding of women.

“Touché,” he said bluntly before turning his full attention to the blueprints and floor plans.

“Owned!” Sirius said with a small grin. Remus laughed at his old friend.



Tonks had been working from seven in the morning to nine at night with a small break at two. Rosmerta was always telling Tonks to take a longer break and shorter shifts, but Tonks wanted enough money to get out of her dingy apartment and into a house. Maybe get married and pop out a few kids along the way. Of course in order to do that, she would probably have to meet another werewolf, so there was no bias. This, of course, led her mind to Remus Lupin. He wasn’t biased, only extremely guilty for biting her when she was five.

She gave two old warlocks a round of Firewhiskeys before Rosmerta approached her with a stern look. Tonks looked at the two old men, hoping that they hadn’t been cut off for the night.

“Go home,” the matron lady said in a motherly voice, taking Tonks’s tray from her.

“Hey!” Tonks protested. It was only five.

“Go before I owl your mother,” Rosmerta said seriously. Tonks turned on her heel and Apparated right there. Upon landing on the floor, Tonks stumbled and crashed on her carefully placed couch. She had begun to place it there since she began Apparating home. She felt no need to get up, and lounged on the couch for a while with her eyes closed.

Nearly half an hour later, Tonks was jerked out of a light boredom-induced sleep by someone knocking on the door. Then she remembered her “date” with Remus. She jumped up, ran into her tiny bedroom, and yelled for Remus to come in.

“Nymphadora?” Remus asked, coming inside.

“Say that word again and I’ll bludgeon you,” Tonks shouted through the door, quickly yanking off her work clothes and putting on some nicer clean clothes. “I’ll be out in a minute, make yourself comfortable!” After pulling on a dark red tank top and a thin white shrug over it, she tried to pull on her jeans. She got one foot in alright, but started hopping around to get the other leg in, fell backwards into her bed, and hit the floor on the opposite side.

“You okay?” Remus asked with a small knock on the door.

“Fine!” Tonks shouted back, jumping up with her black jeans fully on. “I’ll only be another minute!” she ran into the bathroom and brushed her teeth hurriedly, checking for any signs of food or plaque. She hated both.

“Alright, I’m ready,” Tonks said, stepping out of her room and smiling at Remus. He looked her up and down slowly, taking her in. He looked quite nice himself. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black trousers. Tonks liked it when he wore t-shirts. They made him look more muscular than thin and ill.

“You look…lovely,” Remus said hoarsely. Tonks blushed slightly and looked at her shoes.

“Thanks so do you,” she said, then realized she called Remus lovely, “—handsome, I mean…. You look handsome.”

“Thank you Nym—ouch! Thank you Tonks,” Remus said after receiving a light blow to the head. “Er…shall we go then?”

“Oh, right! Yes let’s go,” Tonks said, grabbing her purse quickly on the way out the door. They walked in silence for a few moments.

“So where is this restaurant then?” Remus asked curiously as they continued walking for what felt like too far from the apartment.

“You’ll see,” Tonks said with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Turn left up here.” She pointed forward and to the left, down a lane that held only houses, no buildings.

“Tonks, are you—?”

“Yes Remus! Just trust me, okay?”

“Alright then, I trust you.”

“Good. It’s right here, stop!” Tonks pulled Remus’s arm to a tiny red house, looking as excited as a small child with their first broomstick. “Welcome to Mio Nonna’s Casa,” Tonks said with a very well done Italian accent.

“What does that translate out to?” Remus asked as they got to the door. Tonks didn’t knock, she swung it open.

“Nonna, io portar a ragazzo per cena!” Tonks shouted in Italian as a cheerful-looking old woman ran to the foyer to greet them. ((Grandmother, I brought a boy for dinner!))

“Mio caro, lui è bello!” she said, pinching Tonks’s cheek. Tonks blushed and turned to Remus. ((My dear, he's handsome!))

“Mio Nonna’s Casa means ‘my grandmother’s house,” she said to Remus. “It’s nice, it’s free, and she’ll give us privacy if we need it. It’s totally foolproof!”

“Dora, che è suo chiamo?” Tonks’s grandmother asked. ((Dora, what is his name?))

“Remus Lupin, Nonna,” Tonks said. “Remus, this is my grandmother, you can just call her Nonna.” Remus smiled, only knowing one Italian word for sure.

“Ciao…?” he looked at Tonks, who nodded. “Ciao Nonna,” Remus said, holding out his hand to shake and getting a hug in return.

“Salve, caro ragazzo,” Nonna said with a pinch to Remus’s cheek as well.

“She said ‘hello, dear boy’,” Tonks whispered, fighting a grin. “Va bene Nonna, al condizionale noi avere di vino privato per favore?” ((Alright grandmother, could we have some privacy please?))

“Bene, bene, di corso,” Nonna said with a nod of her head, leading Remus and Tonks to a small room in the back of the house. It had a single table with a chair on either side, two heaping plates of spaghetti at each place. ((Right, right, of course.))

“You see, sometimes if I want to go out but can’t afford it, I just call my grandmother and she’ll make me dinner, she’s really sweet but only speaks a few dirty words in English. The poor dear doesn’t even know they’re bad,” Tonks explained after giving her grandmother a kiss on the cheek in thanks. The old woman patted Tonks and Remus’s cheeks in response and left the room.

“So…you’re sure we won’t be overheard?” Remus asked, not trying to sound mean. But, for all they know, sweet little Nonna could be pressing her ear against the door that very moment.

“Remus, even if she did hear us, she wouldn’t understand a word of it, unless we were swearing like sailors,” Tonks said reassuringly. “So, what did you want to talk to me about the other night?” Remus took a small bite of spaghetti to think about how to begin. Instead he was completely distracted by how good the food was.

“Oh my god!” he said in astonishment. Tonks smiled knowingly.

“I know, you should have see me the first time I had Nonna’s food, I ate so much I had to get my stomach magically pumped,” Tonks said with a reminiscent grin on her face. “According to my dad she used to be an amazing chef in Italy, but then was getting too old to be on her own and moved here. I was sure to have my apartment nearby, both in case she needed help, and so I could get free near-gourmet food whenever I wanted.”

“Clever,” Remus said, “you speak Italian quite well.”

“Nonna taught me, actually. Well, Nonna would say stuff and do the actions that go with it, like touch your nose,” Tonks explained. “Toccare tuo naso.” She reached up and touched her nose. “Eventually, I just figured it out on my own, with my dad helping once in a while.”

“That sounds nice,” Remus said with a smile, enjoying how Tonks leaned her head on her hand as she spoke, completely comfortable with the atmosphere and her eating partner.

“So what did your parents do Remus?” Tonks asked curiously, all Order business forgotten in Remus’s mind.

“Well, my father is to this day a Healer, specializing in both human and werewolf fertility and development, he made sure of that,” Remus said with a smile that quickly dissipated. “And my mother…well, she was an expert abandoner, I suppose. One month, she wanted to be a wife and mother, the next she couldn’t handle the prejudices of having a werewolf for a son and ran. It went on and on until I was seventeen, then she no longer felt inclined to try to be a mother to me. I had survived to be an adult, what was she needed for?”

“Oh Remus, that’s horrible,” Tonks said comfortingly, reaching across the table and squeezing Remus’s hand supportively. “But, I know what you mean; my dad left us when I was seven. But I don’t care, he became a b*****d.”

“Well I got used to it as the years went on,” Remus said with a shrug. “Besides, I think I’m better off to have grown up with my dad.”

“Much more manly?” Tonks asked, immediately back to her good sense of humor.

“Oh, yes, but he also showed me how to be in touch with my less rugged and manly side,” Remus said, purposely making his voice deeper. Tonks giggled for a full minute at that. “He said it was the only way I was going to get a woman, if I understood her.”

“So you understand?” Tonks asked, peering at Remus over a glass of water.

“I try, but to no avail,” Remus said. That sentence made him think of Lily and James, and how James used to claim he knew exactly what Lily was thinking, and Lily would just laugh at him. Lily and James. Tonks and Remus. A werewolf. A Metamorphmagus werewolf. The Order. Oh crap, the Order!

“Tonks, about what I needed to talk to you about,” Remus said hurriedly, not wanting to be distracted again.

“Oh, right, we keep getting off-track don’t we?” Tonks asked.

“Yes we do, but it really is urgent,” Remus said, sitting up a bit straighter. Tonks seemed to understand his urgency and became more attentive as well. “If I am correct, you heard about the death at the Triwizard Tournament?”

“Cedric Diggory? Yeah, that was a real shame,” Tonks said sympathetically.

“Have you heard any alternate stories as to how he died?” Remus asked in a low voice. Tonks looked at him with wide eyes.

“What, you mean some sort of conspiracy?” Tonks asked.

“Precisely, Tonks, brilliant,” Remus said. “The Ministry is trying to hush it all up because they don’t want mass panic and chaos. Tonks…Cedric’s death was no accident; it was murder.” Tonks actually gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth.

“I knew something was fishy about that story! Two boys come out of the maze, one clutching the other’s dead body sobbing, and he died in an accident? I don’t think so,” Tonks exclaimed. “So who did it?” Remus hesitated, not wanting to alarm Tonks.

“It was…it was Him, Tonks,” he said slowly. “The one everyone thought to be dead.”

“Pettigrew?” Tonks asked.

“Well…he was there as well, but…you may not remember, you were quite young when it happened—”

“What, you mean You-Know-Who?” Tonks interjected in a horrified whisper. The look Remus gave her was enough to confirm her fears. “Oh my god. It’s true then? Harry Potter isn’t making it up?”

“Of course he isn’t,” Remus said, instantly jumping to the boy’s defense. “Like I said before, the Ministry’s just trying to hush it up so no one panics.”

“Is the Ministry doing underground work then? Trying to get rid of You-Know-Who before anyone finds out he’s at large?” Tonks asked.

“No, they’re doing nothing. You see, not only do the majority of the Wizarding World deny Voldemort’s—” Tonks flinched, “—return, but Fudge is as well.”

“What!?” Tonks asked loudly, spilling a bit of her water on herself in surprise. “He can’t honestly be that daft!”

“Unfortunately, he is, and Voldemort’s numbers are growing every day,” Remus said seriously. “That’s why I need to talk to you. Have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?”

“Bits and pieces, but not enough to really claim to know what it is,” Tonks answered honestly.

“Well, the Order is basically doing what you thought the Ministry was doing. We’re trying to alert the Wizarding Community to Voldemort’s return, but we need more members to do so,” Remus explained.

“What, you mean me?” Tonks asked. “What could I possibly have that the Order wants?”

“You’re a werewolf,” Remus said bluntly. “That is a great asset to have. You see, most of the werewolves have been promised a better position in the Wizarding World if they support Voldemort. People like you and I would be in charge of trying to get a few werewolves on Dumbledore’s side, and get them to recruit other werewolves, and so on.”

“So…I’m an asset?” Tonks asked, hope gleaming in her eyes. She had, possibly, never been deemed even slightly valuable by anyone but her mother.

“Yes Tonks, you are a great asset, Sirius recommended you immediately after the Order got back together,” Remus said reassuringly. “I can’t recruit feral werewolves on my own, and I’m the only werewolf in the Order as of yet. We need you, Tonks.” Remus and Tonks stared at eachother for a long while.

“Alright,” Tonks said with a nod, “I’ll do it. I’ll join the Order.”

“Excellent Tonks!” Remus said, beaming at her. “I’ll take you to the meeting later this week so Dumbledore can get an idea of who’s joining. Now, onto other things…”

The rest of their dinner was spent talking about previous jobs and friends and family. Remus couldn’t remember ever telling anyone so much about himself before in one night, besides the Marauders. After their plates were cleared and their glasses empty, Nonna peeked in the door timidly.

“Entrare, la Nonna, sta bene,” Tonks said, motioning for her to come in. Nonna held up a finger, and then brought in two bowls of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce on top, most likely upon Tonks’s request. ((Come in, grandmother, it’s alright.))

“Fatemi sapere quando lei parte a caro prezzo, amerei salutare Remus,” Nonna said before leaving them in privacy again. ((Let me know when you're leaving dear, I'd like to say goodbye to Remus.))

“My, my, I think my grandmother has taken a liking to you Remus,” Tonks said with a smile, telling Remus what she said.

“Well it’s nice to know that she approves,” Remus said without thinking. Tonks froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth, staring at Remus. He stared right back, astounded that he had said such a thing.

“I didn’t even think about that,” Tonks said softly before smiling broadly and taking her bite.

Great, the cat’s out of the bag now, Remus thought, internally rolling his eyes at himself. But what did she mean by what she said? Does that mean she feels the same? Oh, do shut up Remus, you’re acting like a lust-ridden teenager.

“Ringraziarla…molto la Nonna…per un pasto bello…una buonanotte,” Remus said slowly and very badly, Tonks whispering in his ear what to say. ((Thank you very much grandmother for a lovely meal, goodnight.))

“Lei è un ragazzo dolce! Il mio Dora è fortunato aver trovato qualcuno l'ama, finalmente!” Nonna said happily, pinching both of Remus’s cheeks and kissing each one. ((You are a sweet boy! My Dora is lucky to have found someone like you, at last!))

“Er…thank you?” Remus said uncertainly as Tonks turned bright red and started giggling like a madwoman.

“Arrivederci la Nonna! I ringraziamenti ancora per la cena!” Tonks called over her shoulder as she and Remus walked down the drive. The sky was, by then, an inky black and dotted with silver stars. “It’s really a lovely night out, isn’t it?” she asked after a short while of walking, her arm loosely linked with Remus’s. ((Goodbye grandmother! Thanks again for dinner!))

“It really is,” Remus said, staring directly at Tonks instead of the sky. Tonks felt his gaze and glanced at him briefly before looking back up. She realized afterward the intensity of his gaze, and did a bit of a double-take.

“What, do I have something on my face?” Tonks asked, turning slightly pink and raising a hand to her cheek.

“No, no…you just look lovely, that’s all,” Remus muttered, turning red and looking away hurriedly.

“Oh…well…thank you,” Tonks said breathlessly, smiling shyly. “Well…this is me. Would you like to come up for some tea?” By the way Tonks was looking at him, it seemed that she had a bit more than tea on her mind.

“Well…alright then,” Remus said shyly, following Tonks up the stairs and to her modest flat. She had a faded, once bright red, worn out couch in the middle of the room facing the fireplace. There was a small vase above it that Remus assumed was full of Floo Powder. There was a comfortable-looking brown chair next to the stained coffee table.

“So how do you have your tea?” Tonks asked as she walked to the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards.

“Usually just straight,” Remus said with a shrug, perusing her selection of books interestedly. “You read a lot of fairy tales, don’t you?” Tonks came to the sitting room that was adjoined to the kitchen, carrying two warm cups of tea and smiling.

“Yes, even before I became a werewolf I was fascinated by all the wolf stories,” she said, fingering one of the books’ faded spine gently. They both stood silently, sipping their tea comfortably, leaning against the bookshelf wearily. After they drained their cups they sat on the couch and Tonks lit the fire with her wand; it was a chilly night for summer.

They awkwardly sat a few inches away from eachother on the faded couch, looking around the room and wishing they hadn’t talked about everything they could think of while eating. Finally Remus got up the nerve to do something very unlike him and more like Sirius. Maybe Buckbeak had secretly bludgeoned Sirius, and Remus was channeling his spirit or something, but either way he pretended to yawn and put an arm around Tonks’s shoulders.

“You are so cute!” Tonks said after a few moments, scooting closer to Remus and laying her head on his shoulder.

“Thanks so are you,” Remus said with a goofy grin on his face. He put his arm around her a bit tighter and they just sat there, perfectly content to stay this way for a long time. They sat silently until the clock struck midnight.

“It’s late,” Tonks said with no hint of wanting the night to end. Instead she pulled a quilt off the back of the couch and laid it over them. They proceeded to fall asleep there, warm and perfectly comfortable in each other’s arms.

Chapter 4


“All there is left to say tonight before we commence the meeting is Welcome to Nymphadora Tonks, Hestia Jones, Matthew Turner, Alex Turner, Jessica Turner, Caroline Rigby and her daughter Eleanor, Bill Weasley, and Charlie Weasley,” Dumbledore said after two full hours of privately interviewing each new member under the influence of Veritaserum. Tonks had gone in looking slightly confident, came out looking as if she had been forced to sit her NEWTs without a single day of studying and had refused to talk to Remus about it. It wasn’t as if Dumbledore had been cruel in any way, he was just very protective of his closest friends who also happened to be Order Members.

Eleanor Rigby, being too young to join in the meeting but dragged along by her mother anyway, retreated upstairs with Fred and George, who were of the same age. Remus heard George say something in a very suggestive tone to the girl, who definitely responded accordingly.

“Now that everyone has been proven trustworthy and valuable to our cause, we must get on to the meeting. I am afraid time is scarce, but luckily we are discussing only one thing tonight—”

“Getting Harry out of the Dursleys’,” Sirius said with an eager grin on his face.

“Exactly Sirius,” Dumbledore said with a smile, “does anyone have any suggestions?”

“Well…what are these people—the Dursleys—like?” Tonks asked, surprising everyone in the room. Everyone had automatically assumed that the new members would just use tonight as an observation meeting.

“Complete and utter fools,” Sirius said after a moment’s pause.

“Completely full of themselves,” Remus added.

“Pompous!”

“Total selfish gits!”

“Not even worth a knut of my time!”

People were adding onto Sirius’s explanation from all sides, feeding off every story they had heard of the Dursleys.

“Do you have an idea Nymphadora?” Dumbledore inquired to a thoughtful-looking Tonks. The elderly Headmaster was the only person (besides Remus) she would ever allow to call her by her first name.

“I’m working on it. So these Dursleys…you mean they like to show off and such?” There were exclamations of confirmation around the table. “Alright…well, you know that drought that’s been going around the country, and everyone’s lawns are drying up?” There was more confirmation. “Well…what if we told the Dursleys through Muggle post that they had won…some sort of Best-Kept Lawn Competition? It would definitely make them feel important if their lawn’s drying up and even better if they ask about it and no one knows what they’re talking about.”

“You know…that’s a pretty good idea,” Remus said thoughtfully. Tonks raised an eyebrow slightly as if to ask “are you just saying that because we’re dating, or are you serious?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea Nymphadora,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “I trust you will be able to arrange the plan?”

“O-oh…I just thought that…we would hear other ideas too…” Tonks said, surprised that she had actually been asked to help.

“Does anyone else have an idea?” Dumbledore asked courteously, looking around the room. No one spoke, smiling broadly at the brilliant younger witch. “It looks like you’ve thought of what we’re going to do Nymphadora. You, Remus, and Sirius can work on the finer details then. Does anyone else have anything in need of discussion?” Again, no one spoke, making Tonks feel a bit in the spotlight for a moment. “Excellent; Remus, Nymphadora, Sirius, I trust you will start planning as soon as possible, but in the meantime I believe Molly has made dinner for all who wish to stay.”

Mostly everyone got up and left chatting merrily, but Tonks, Kingsley, Hestia, and most of the other new members stayed behind. Shortly after the kids came down again, George and Eleanor having the ‘I just had sex’ look all over them. Eleanor’s short blonde hair was sticking up all over the place. Tonks was just barely able to stifle a snigger.

“Alright, so who’s going to write the letter?” Sirius asked, leaning forward across the table towards Remus and Tonks.

“My mum taught me how to write in this really fancy loopy writing,” Tonks said, conjuring a piece of parchment and writing ‘My name is, unfortunately, Nymphadora Tonks. It took a while, but was even loopier than Dumbledore’s writing, looking like a very formal statement even with such informal words.

“That looks really good Tonks,” Sirius said with a ruffle to his cousin’s hair. She stuck out her tongue and pushed his chest. “I am like a proud Mama!”

“Oh stop it; you’re acting like a kid!” Tonks squealed, though she was showing no signs of wanting the fun to stop. Sirius kept poking and tickling her until she fell off her chair. Remus leaned his forehead on his hand and fought a laugh. It would not bode well for him to laugh at his girlfriend’s clumsiness.

“Here, let me help you,” he said, offering a hand to Tonks. She took it with a grateful smile and allowed him to pull her back into her chair.

“Thank you for not making me fall out of my chair Remus, you may just get some action tonight for that,” Tonks said, giving Remus a quick light kiss. Sirius froze.

“Alright, I just thought you were being all chummy and affectionate…why didn’t I know you were dating?” he asked in a demanding voice. Tonks and Remus froze like deer in the headlights. They were so busted.

“Uh…” Tonks said cluelessly.

“Well you see…” Remus started lamely. The two looked at each other for help.

“Oh look, I think Molly needs help! Remus, let’s go help, okay?” Tonks said quickly, jumping up to run across the kitchen. Remus followed directly at her heels.

“You totally blew it!” he hissed through light laughter.

“I forgot, okay!?” Tonks squeaked back, taking plates from Molly and putting them on the table. She only broke two in her haste to avoid Sirius, and he still followed her like a hawk.

“Just admit you love him!”

“I’m busy being productive Sirius!” Tonks argued. Sirius took the plates from her with a mischievous grin. Tonks tried to grab for them but Sirius held them just out of her reach.

“Say it!” he taunted, raising himself to his toes to get maximum height.

“Sirius, you forget that I am a Metamorphmagus,” Tonks said, making her self grow about a foot and easily taking the plates from her cousin before shrinking to just the same height as him. “And I don’t know if I love him or not,” she whispered sadly into his ear when they were at eye-level, before continuing on to her tiny self. Sirius left her alone after that.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,
We at the Great Britain Foliage Campaign (GBFC) would like to offer you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your home has been singled out for its outstandingly aristocratic lawn. Our researchers have been all through England, and have decided that you are a definite asset to the All England Best-Kept Lawn Competition.
We would dote on your attendance at the banquet this coming Sunday evening. Please take photographs of your lawn from every angle to ensure one hundred percent visibility and bring such photographs to the banquet. The banquet and prize-administering will be taking place at the Plaza Banquet Hall on 34th avenue at promptly 7:30 in the evening.
Sincerely,
Miranda Cosgrove, GBFC president

“How’s this look Remus?” Tonks asked the next morning. She had Apparated to his house after writing the letter. He was just getting ready to go to work at Scrivenshaft’s Remus looked over the letter, concentrating on her loopy fancy words.

“This is excellent Dora; I really think they’ll fall for it. Plus Harry should get a kick out of seeing his relatives taking photos of every possible angle of their yard. I don’t think they would trust him to do it properly,” Remus said thoughtfully.

“Great, I’ll take it to the Post Office before work. Could you write their address on the envelope please?” Tonks asked, handing him the neat white envelope. Remus smiled at her and quickly wrote the address on the front, also putting the stamp in the proper place but no return address. “Thanks, I probably would have pulled a Molly and covered the whole thing with stamps.” She grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before walking out to the Post Office.

She was worried about the letter just sitting in that little compartment she was about to put it in, called a Drop Box. Why would she drop a letter, and how would it get to the destination? She shook her head at her own foolish antics, remembering what Arthur had told her.

Muggle methods may seem odd, but trust it, they work most of the time.

Tonks took a deep breath and dropped the letter into the little metal door, peering in after it for a moment. After she saw a hand reach out and grab the letter she was satisfied, and made her way towards the Leaky Cauldron.

When she reached an alley that was a nice shortcut to the pub, she felt a hand close tightly around her throat and force her against the wall. In her shock her hair turned its normal dark blackish brown and fell around her face. The smallest of hoarse screams came out of her mouth before a large dirty hand covered it that smelled lightly of blood.

“Shh, don’t scream pretty,” the dirty man said, smelling the base of her neck. Tonks began shaking violently against the brick wall. “I can smell your blood, your beautiful blood beneath that smooth white skin. Oh how I would love to get beneath that skin, taste that blood in my throat. But for now I am here on one condition. If you even try in the slightest to recruit the werewolves on Dumbledore’s side, I will taste your pretty flesh.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tonks choked out shakily, her voice muffled beneath his hand.

“Oh but you do, Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of Andromeda Black and Theodore Tonks. I’ve watched you since you were five years old, seeing every transformation of that young skin. I’ve watched you grow…watched you dress…” A grin showed his filthy crooked teeth. “I saw you move into your flat, apartment A-6 in 23012 Maple Street….And I watched you agree to join the Order of the Phoenix from your grandmother’s window. You have been warned for the one and only time.

“Fear the name Fenrir Greyback, pretty, and you’ll die a smart woman.” He stepped back and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Tonks shaking like a leaf behind him and unable to breathe properly. She sank down to the ground, her knees banging into her chin painfully.

“Fenrir Greyback,” she whispered, her voice weak from her vocal chords nearly being crushed. She could feel her neck bruising from Greyback’s grip already. She sat in the dirt for several minutes, trying to steady her breathing and crying. Greyback had been watching her since she was five years old. What did he have in store for her? And what about Nonna? Greyback knew where she lived, she wasn’t safe.

Steeling herself, Tonks got up and walked slowly the rest of the way through the alley. Tom looked at her in concern when she entered the pub.

“Tonks, you alright?” he asked, coming around the counter with a clean towel in his hand. “You look like you’ve just been raped!”

“I’m fine Tom, I’ve got to get to work,” Tonks said, pushing his hand away and continuing through the pub and into Diagon Alley. Within moments of entering the busy street she went to Scrivenshaft’s instead of putting out her left hand for the Knight Bus. She quickly shrank her hair down to earlobe length as she entered looking frantically for her shabby-robed boyfriend. When she didn’t see him there, she dropped down into one of the reading chairs around the room with her head in her hands. A few people gave her odd looks as they shopped.

Sighing, Tonks walked out and summoned the Knight Bus. She ignored Stan and Ernie and just paid what was needed to get to the Three Broomsticks. She walked quickly to the back of the bus and remained quiet until she got to work. She knew Madam Rosmerta would make an almighty fuss about her bruised and slightly cut neck, mussed up hair, the large bump on the back of her head from the hard wall, and her dirty disheveled clothes. Sure enough, when she walked in…

“Tonks, what in the name of Merlin’s saggy G-string happened to you!?” Rosmerta asked loudly, taking the young woman’s thin shaking shoulders in her hands.

“I’m okay Rosy,” Tonks said quickly, “I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Well at least let me fix those bruises on your neck,” Rosmerta said, taking out her wand. “Episkey!”

Something had gone wrong. Her throat started to burn and tightened, starting to cut off Tonks’s oxygen. She waved her hands at Rosmerta to show her to stop. After Rosmerta backed off, Tonks was unable to touch her neck it hurt so badly.

“Alright, well you shouldn’t be working now, not like this. Sorry the spell didn’t work,” Rosmerta said. Tonks nodded, unable to speak now from the pain. She Flooed home from the Three Broomsticks’ fireplace instead of Apparating, which would probably make her breathing condition worse.

Once in her flat, she very carefully peeled off her shirt, cringing even at the major shoulder movement, and pulled Remus’s sweater on instead. She pulled the collar up to cover the bruises on her neck. Maybe she had a potion that would help. She walked toward the window to go to the bathroom, and froze. What had Greyback said?

I saw you move into your flat, apartment A-6 in 23012 Maple Street….

She didn’t approach the window. She could have sworn she’d seen a flash of yellow eyes out in the bushes. She resolved herself to just moving back to the kitchen table and sitting down, shaking like a leaf. Why was she so scared of this man? Well, he could tear her limb from limb with those fingernails, that was for sure. He was the werewolf who had infected Remus. He had infected hundreds of children. But perhaps it was just the way he had breathed deeply at the base of her neck, his tongue leaving his lips and touching her skin for the briefest of moments that truly terrified her.

She had no idea how long she sat in silence, but she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on the door. She felt a rush of panic; what if it was him? She wasn’t thinking clearly. Mentally berating herself, she opened the door and saw Remus and Snuffles there. She didn’t even smile like she normally would. She just stepped back and let them in.

“Rosmerta flooed me and said to come talk to you. What, not even a hello?” Remus asked with a small smile that quickly faded when Tonks motioned for Sirius not to transform into his human self. “She’s right, we should close that curtain.” Tonks looked at the same window she’d seen the eyes through. She shook her head quickly, and grabbed Remus’s arm when he went to close the curtains. She pulled him to the table and summoned a scrap of parchment and quill.

I’m being followed. She pushed it to Remus.

“Is that why you aren’t speaking?” Remus asked quickly, “can they hear you?” Tonks shook her head and pulled the collar of Remus’s sweater down to reveal the bruises. His eyes widened.

“Hurts to talk,” she whispered hoarsely, putting a hand on her sore throat.

“Why don’t you let me—” Remus offered, pulling out his wand. Tonks grabbed his hand again and shook her head.

“Tried already, made it worse,” she whispered again.

“Alright…who’s following you Tonks?” Remus asked gently. Tonks’s eyes went dark for a moment in thought. Then, almost afraid to say his name aloud, she took Remus’s hand and turned the palm upward so his scar was visible.

“Grey—?”

“Yes,” Tonks said before he could finish. Her eyes flickered to the window and saw a grotesque inhuman face looking back at her. She screamed, unable to control herself, and fell backwards. When she looked back at the window the face was gone.

“Tonks, are you alright, what was it?” Remus asked, kneeling down beside the now horrified Tonks. She just started sobbing, too shaken by the day’s events to take it anymore. Remus quickly wrapped his arms around her and placed her head on his shoulder.

“I can’t stay here anymore,” she said painfully into Remus’s neck. She felt as if her already squashed vocal chords were tearing from the effort.

“You can stay in Headquarters tonight, that would be safest because he’s probably keeping tabs on me too,” Remus said quickly. “I should probably stay there too.” Tonks allowed Remus to pull her to her feet and lead her out of the flat, quickly summoning a change of clothes from her wardrobe.

“Wait!” she said urgently, stopping Remus from leaving the door. “He’ll see us leave. Portkey?”

“Alright, that would be safest,” Remus said, turning a spoon into a Portkey. He placed it on the floor so Snuffles could put a paw on it just before it swept them away.

Chapter 6

After two weeks of non-stop cleaning to get Grimmauld Place even slightly livable, all thoughts of Tonks’s mistake left all minds but that of Tonks herself. She knew that voice belonged to Greyback, but didn’t know how it had gotten in her head.

Harry was waking up earlier than usual one morning from the sounds of people laughing downstairs. He crept down the staircase to see Tonks attempting to leave for work, but Remus kept intervening. She would take a step, Remus would grab her by the waist and kiss her, and she would remind him she had to leave but kiss back anyway.

“Remus I’ve got to go to work,” she murmured into his ear, her eyes shut as he kissed her neck. His yet unshaved whiskers tickled her neck and she squirmed away after the moment of pleasure. “Remus I’m serious, I am so going to get the sack if I don’t leave right now.”

“Find another job,” Remus said simply, moving toward her again with a husky lust-ridden voice that made the eavesdropping Harry squirm uncomfortably. This man was his ex-professor after all. Tonks gave a low laugh that came right from the deepest depths of her throat.

“I can’t I think I’m about to be promoted, I wouldn’t like to be fired now,” she lied with a husky laugh. Remus paused his kissing of her neck for a moment, Tonks’s back pressed against the wall with Remus’s hands on either side of her head. He then let out a sharp sigh.

“You torment me, woman,” he said in a poetic voice.

“I know and that is what I live for,” Tonks said, giving Remus a quick kiss on the lips before slipping out from beneath his arms and scurrying out the door before he could take hold of her again. Remus leaned against the wall for a moment as if trying to master himself before getting up again. What Harry happened to see in his…erm…Nether-regions…was incredibly disturbing. He let out a small cough of surprise, and Remus looked up, turning bright red.

“Uh…hello Harry. Excuse me, would you?” he said hurriedly, running up the stairs past Harry like a teenager. Harry felt his eyes widen when he heard the bathroom door shut and lock, knowing very well he would never look at his professor the same way.

“You poor child,” Sirius said from around the corner. Harry spun around to face his godfather. “You really shouldn’t have had to see that.”

“Yeah I know,” Harry grumbled, digging his hands into his pockets. He felt a little funny…down there…after watching that scene. It really didn’t help seeing a particular someone come down the stairs behind him.

“Good morning Harry, Sirius,” Hermione said, going around Harry to get to the kitchen. Her hair brushed against his arm and he caught a whiff of her shampoo, only making his situation worse.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” he said stiffly before even saying good morning to Hermione. Sirius burst out laughing and Hermione looked confused as he turned and left, about to kick Remus out of the bathroom.

“What’s so funny Sirius?” Hermione asked, feeling left out of some sort of joke.

“Man problems, little-lady, you wouldn’t be interested,” Sirius said with a pat to the girl’s shoulder. Hermione blinked at him as if she had a clue to what he was talking about, but didn’t really want to believe it.

“…right…well I’m going to make some breakfast,” Hermione said slowly before continuing into the kitchen.



“I’m fine Rosy, get off my back,” Tonks snapped the next evening as Rosmerta pestered her about falling off her broom. Tonks had made the mistake of telling her what had happened, thought nothing about Harry of course. She ‘had a flying accident while playing Quidditch with a cousin’.

“Well you shouldn’t have been flying right after being assaulted, with those bruises on your neck!” Rosmerta protested, following Tonks around the pub. Tonks turned around so abruptly Rosmerta ran into her, and tugged down the collar of her shirt.

“The bruises are gone Rosy, I’m perfectly fine,” she argued. She looked out the window at the purpling sky, and felt a small twinge on her heartstrings. Full moon was tonight. “Actually Rosy, I’m not feeling too well; I think I’ll be going home early tonight.”

“You do what you need to do dear,” Rosmerta said as if she knew why Tonks needed to leave. The young woman’s thoughts instantly went to her mother, and felt anger boil in her. If her mother told Rosmerta about her condition she was so dead.

“Rosy, did my mother, by any chance, tell you something about me shortly after you hired me?” she asked innocently now, already planning her mother’s funeral.

“Aye, she did, but why would you be interested in that? It’s not like I care if you have herpes and have to go to St. Mungo’s every month for treatment,” Rosmerta said with a shrug.

“I have WHAT!?” Tonks yelped. “Oh, that’s it; my mother is going to die!” Clenching her fists, she walked to the hat stand she’d hung her cloak on and swung it violently around her shoulders. The moment she had stepped outside, she Apparated home, hoping for something of Nonna’s food seeing as she’d moved in with her mother.

“Mum, Nonna, you home?” she called bitterly as she walked in the front door, not smelling anything delicious and Italian.

“Nonna, why are you calling Nonna?” Andromeda asked as she entered the hall and took her daughter’s cloak off for her.

“She hasn’t moved in yet?” Tonks asked worriedly.

“No, nobody has even mentioned the idea of her moving in,” Andromeda said confusedly. “Someone spoke to me about moving, but not of Nonna moving here.”

“Nonna was supposed to do that,” Tonks said resignedly. Why hadn’t Nonna mentioned anything? “Well, whatever, I’d like to eat something before moonrise.” She went into the kitchen and grabbed some leftover casserole out of the fridge her father had insisted on buying so many years ago. As she was dishing some onto a plate, a horrible fact hit her. She hadn’t taken the Wolfsbane Potion! She would have to leave the house and go into the woods like always if she forgot. She pushed her chair back and made for the door.

“Nymphadora, where are you going?” her mother asked worriedly. Moonrise was coming fast now.

“I have to go to the woods, I was too distracted this month to brew the potion,” Tonks said hurriedly as she ran out the door and down the front steps. Darkness began to settle in as she reached the trees behind the house. She made sure to get deep inside the trees before looking for a good place to remove her clothes and transform. She settled on a small mossy area she had transformed in before. There was a large oak tree with its roots leaving the ground and a large boulder beside it. The moss was so thick she could lay there like it was a bed. Just as her shirt came open someone ploughed into her.

“Oh my—Remus?”

“Tonks?”

“What are you doing here?” they both asked each other in unison.

“I didn’t take Wolfsbane,” they both said again.

“You too?”

“Yeah!”

“Damn!”

After a moment Tonks became slightly aware of the fact that her shirt was hanging open and her bra exposed. It seemed that Remus had been noticing that too. Both were breathing heavily from running, and perhaps something more. The moon pulled them together with Remus’s bite to her at age five; maybe this was supposed to happen now.

“Remus,” Tonks whispered hoarsely, breaking the silence between them. The moon lured them into its trap, filling them both with a fierce animal need when in the presence of one of the opposite sex. “I need you.” Remus didn’t say a word but certainly didn’t object. He placed a hand on the base of her neck and pulled her towards him gently. He met his lips eagerly, feeling as if tonight was her last night and she would spend it the way she wanted dammit. They ripped off each other’s clothes hungrily, needing each other, moonlight shining on their bare skin.

As they enjoyed a good naked snog with the rising moon driving them crazy, the animals in them took over where the humans left off, continuing all throughout the night until sunrise.

When Tonks awoke, in a slight daze of aching bones, she felt funny. She felt as if she had lost her virginity all over again, but how could that be? Picking a leaf out of her now brownish-black hair as she sat up, she turned over to see—

“Holy hell,” she breathed out slowly. Remus was lying beside her, just as naked as she. She quickly inspected herself for injuries. None. Again, how could that be? Two vicious, un-Wolfsbane-ified werewolves meet in the woods on full moon, and don’t maul each other to death? How was that possible?

Perhaps they were too preoccupied with other, more sexual, things, Tonks thought to herself with a small shudder. She hastily stood and stooped over to retrieve her discarded (and miraculously un-shredded) clothes, and heard Remus stirring awake.

“Who’s there?” he asked hoarsely, keeping his eyes tight shut to shield his eyes from sunlight. Tonks froze, not wanting him to see her naked suddenly. They had messed up so badly last night, they weren’t anywhere near that stage in their relationship yet...even though she loved him. Remus seemed unwilling to wake just yet, and allowed himself to be lulled back to sleep. Tonks let out a small sigh of relief, noticing that Remus wasn’t injured at all either, and pulled on her clothes hurriedly.

After her clothing was intact and the leaves were out of her hair (which she was keeping this way out of shock and panic), she walked home. Her mother was waiting for her, making her breakfast and preparing to heal any wounds her daughter may have inflicted upon herself.

“Oh Nymphadora, are you alright? The way you rushed out last night, I was afraid you wouldn’t make it in time,” Andromeda said, stepping forward with a cloth in her hand, ready to wipe away any blood.

“I’m fine Mum, I didn’t harm myself. I was…preoccupied…I suppose,” Tonks said with a small shrug. She sat at the table with her head in her hands wearily, needing food and sleep. If she had doubted shagging all night in werewolf form before, it was definite that she had now by the level of her exhaustion. Having sex all night, and only having sex all night, could make someone this tired.

“Here you look drained, you should eat something,” Andromeda said as if reading her daughter’s mind and placing an overloaded plate of food in front of her. She resembled Molly Weasley in her own homely ways.

“Thanks Mum,” Tonks said, forgetting all about her desire to murder her mother once she took a bite. “You’re on your way to becoming the Nonna of breakfast foods Mum.” Andromeda glowed, knowing a good compliment from her daughter when she heard one.

“Thank you dear. Feel free to kip in your room if you don’t want to Apparate,” she said warmly before leaving the kitchen. Tonks stared pensively out the window the moment the door fell shut. She could have sworn she’d heard or read something about werewolf mating laws before, but that wasn’t even the least of her worries.

Werewolves can’t use protection.

What if Tonks got knocked up? That would not bode well for either of them. Her mother would literally murder poor Remus, and Tonks would have to be pregnant! She was too young to be pregnant! Great, now she was hyperventilating. Her hands were shaking and she dropped her fork, her appetite now quite suddenly diminished. Her eyes ached of tiredness, and she hauled her body up the stairs to her old room.

If there was one thing she loved about her childhood, it was her room. The walls started out fire-engine red, but on her fourteenth birthday (after numerous amounts of begging on her part) her mother charmed them to change colors with her mood. On pissy days they were the same red, on sad days they were blue, and on hormonally confused days each wall was a different color. Today one wall was orange, nervous, another wall was yellow, happy, another was green, either envious or horny (Tonks was leaning toward the latter), and the last one was a most depressing blue.

Tonks allowed her cloak to fall to the floor, suddenly drained of all energy, and dropped into the comforts of her soft, warm bed. Mmm…Remus was also soft and warm; she remembered that from their unofficial, yet somehow implied, date. She also remembered that from last night. Great, now she was thinking about that again. It’s not like he was soft in a fleshy way, he had great muscles. He was just…a soft person, if that made any sense. Merlin, she really did love him didn’t she?

With a great sigh, Tonks was just beginning to fall asleep when an owl tapped on her window in a most annoying fashion. The irritated young witch opened the window with a lazy flick of her wand, and the bird landed gracefully on her bedside table. It was so white it reminded Tonks of a bridal gown. She took the official-looking note from the owl’s leg and it flew off immediately. Blinking confusedly at what looked like some sort of certificate, she turned on her lamp for a better visual. There was a note attached to the certificate as well.

Dear Mrs. Lupin,

We in the Werewolf Registration Centre of the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures would like to congratulate you on your marriage to one Remus John Lupin. Your Werewolf Registry Numbers have been changed. You both now have the same, all new, register number to show that you are married. If you and your new husband would kindly make an appointment at the Ministry, we will be more than happy to change both of your IDs to fit your marriage. Also, please note that a marriage certificate is attached to this letter. Your marriage to Remus John Lupin is binding and eternal, and cannot be broken.

We look forward to seeing you and hope you are well,
Demitri Von Grey
Head of Werewolf Registration Centre, DCRMC, MoM

Tonks gasped in horror. What the hell had they done?