Hey everyone… so, this is my first Tonks/Remus story ever. And the funny thing is that it started out as a Remus/Lily story… but then I got bored so I added a plot twist. Oooh! Anyways, so the italics are what Remus is dreaming (most of the time, you'll be able to tell when it isn't), and the dreams are 6 nights in a row… Yeah, you'll figure it out.
Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.
X x X x X
Remus Lupin darted out of the portrait hole, cursing himself for being late. Again. And she was, long, red hair like fire in the night, her emerald eyes sparkling as she laughed at his awed expression and said "Come on, Remus. You're late again."
He found himself laughing with her as she took his hand and they delved deep into the darkened corridors of the school. Before he knew it, they were in a tiny, hidden corridor. One no one ever used, as it was so near Filch's office.
But Remus and Lily, they were fearless. Fearless as Lily pulled Remus to her, fearless as his lips crashed down on hers, pressing her into the stone wall.
And then suddenly there was no stone wall. They were in a field, large and grassy, filled with wild flowers, under a pale blue sky. The sun was bright and warm, but neither took any notice.
They were still fearless, fearless in their love as he pressed her into the ground, fearless as they continued kissing fervently.
And then they were elsewhere. On a roof, holding hands, being buffeted by the wind. But Remus couldn't let her go, he wouldn't.
And then someone else was there too. Remus wasn't sure how he got there, but suddenly there was James, and he was pulling Lily away. James pulled Lily into his arms, and she embraced him.
The scene changed yet again. They were in the forbidden forest and the moon was full.
Remus growled, and found himself transforming into a wolf. He lunged at James, his thoughts only on getting Lily back for himself. But before he could reach them, another man stepped in front of him.
Snape. The black haired man looked more bat-like than ever, as he hissed at Remus to back away. "There's a queue." He said, "If you want her, you'll have to wait."
Remus looked past him, and saw Lily, her fiery hair bright as ever, her eyes flashing as always, her brilliant smile, the sort that ought to make the sun come out, displayed for all to see. She was happy with James, and Remus wasn't about to take that from her.
He felt himself morphing back into a man. "You can wait." He told Snape, "But there are always other stars in the sky."
Then he turned on his heel, and stalked off. The forest melted away, and Remus found himself sitting at the Hogs Head. The world was black and white, and everyone, everything seemed to be in slow motion, like flies caught in amber.
And then something caught his attention. The door opening, and in walking a women. She was in full color, her hair a florescent blue, and did not seem to be caught in the slowing of time like the others were. She looked around, and their eyes met.
And then the Hogs Head was gone. He was sitting across from her at a table in Madam Puddifoots. The rest of the world was frozen around them, like people in muggle pictures.
She was laughing, and as she laughed her hair changed in into a bubble gum pink colour. "Your hair… it changed." Remus managed to say.
She just laughed again. And then they were on the doorstep of a house Remus had never seen before. The girl was still laughing.
Remus felt a sudden impulse to kiss her, and so he did. She pulled him in closer, deepening the kiss, threading her hands through his hair, fearless as she did so.
And then she was gone, and Remus was awake. He could still hear her laughing, still see her face, clear as day. But she was gone.
X x X x X x
Remus was in the Shrieking Shack. He was a wolf, not a man, but he had somehow retained his mind. He heard the old steps creaking. He figured it was Sirius or James, but the person who opened the door was neither.
It was the girl. The girl from last night. The girl full of light. She smiled at him tentatively, and approached him cautiously. "You in there, Remus?" she asked softly, reaching out her hand, before laughing a little at herself.
He tried to speak, he tried to shout 'Yes!', but he couldn't. He never could. So instead, he nuzzled her hand gently.
Then it dawned on him that she knew his name, even though he'd never told her. And even stranger, she knew what he was. And yet she didn't seem to care. He wondered who she was. Then he realized he didn't even know her name.
He tried to ask her, he screamed it in his mind, but his wolf-ish form restricted him. He pleaded her with desperate eyes to tell him, but she didn't understand. Of course she didn't. He hadn't expected her to.
Instead, she pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. "I'll see you tomorrow night?" she asked, and Remus nodded his doggy head frantically. "Good." She whispered, before slipping out of the room with elven grace.
And then Remus was awake. He'd seen her again. He'd been wondering about her all day, and now he'd seen her. The girl full of light.
Her promise of seeing him again rang in his ears, and he hoped desperately she would be back.
X x X x X x
Remus was in the potions classroom. He was brewing a potion, bright green in color, though he wasn't quite sure what kind of potion it was. He looked for a book, or perhaps a simple scrap of parchment with a recipe written on it, anything with a clue as to what this concoction was, but there was nothing.
Nothing but Remus, the desk, the cauldron full of potion, and a ladle he was stirring it with. Remus continued stirring the potion.
There was a tinkle of glass behind him, and Remus turned to see a tiny shot glass sitting on a small wooden table. He picked up the empty glass, and inspected it.
Remus shrugged, and, with nothing better to do, ladled some of the mysterious brew into the glass. Instantly, the potion turned pink, the same shade as the girl's hair had been. Remus held the glass up to the light. It was then that he noticed tiny golden letters spelling Drink Me on the cup.
Remus contemplated this for a moment. Then he did something crazy. He drank it. He drank it even though he hadn't the slightest idea what it might do, or what it might be. For all he knew, it might have been poison.
Suddenly, Remus was standing on a cloud. As far as he could see, there was nothing but a field of clouds and the blue sky above. "Fancy seeing you here." Said a voice.
Remus turned around. It was the girl again. "Um, I don't mean to be rude," said Remus.
The girl laughed, and interrupted him. "I really don't mind if you are, you know…"
Remus smiled faintly, and pressed on. "But I don't actually know your name…"
The girl laughed. "How silly of me." She said, "I never did tell you, did I?"
Remus shook his head. "No, you didn't."
"I'm Tonks." Said the girl, sticking out her hand to shake.
"I'm Remus, although I suppose you already knew that." Said Remus, shaking her hand, "But you've got a rather unusual name."
"Aah." Said the girl, grinning. "It was bound to come up eventually. My real name's Nymphadora, Nymphadora Tonks, but with a name like that, I just go by Tonks."
Remus laughed a little. "I don't blame you, but I think Nymphadora's rather pretty."
Tonks cocked an eyebrow. "Figures you're a little crazy. You have to be, I suppose, to be marauder."
Remus laughed. "Definitely." He said, "But what if… What if I called you Dora?"
Tonks tilted her head to the side, thinking. She twirled a curl, which Remus now noticed were neon yellow, before her hair suddenly turned poker strait and orange. "I like it." She told him finally.
"Good." Said Remus, "You know, this dream has been surprisingly normal so far."
"Yes…" said Tonks, "Yes it has." She winked at him.
Suddenly, Remus found himself falling. It was like the clouds beneath him had finally realized that they were not behaving as they ought, and had suddenly regained their non-solid properties.
He looked up, and saw Tonks watching him fall, screaming for him. His last thought before he woke up was "I should have kissed her while I had the chance."
And then Remus was awake, no longer falling, but lying in his own bed at Hogwarts. He sighed heavily, and wondered whether he'd ever meet Tonks in real life, or if she would always be a figment of his imagination. He desperately hoped for the former.
X x X x X x
Remus was on a bridge. There was a roaring river below him. He was staring down into the river, when he heard a scream behind him.
He spun around. He caught a glimpse of Lily and James, just before they toppled over the edge, pushed by two men in dark robes.
The scene changed. Remus was in a grave yard. He saw another man in the distance, a man in a black robe. One of the men from the bridge. One of the men who had killed Lily and James.
Anger boiled up inside Remus, and he began running towards him, intent on avenging their deaths. He pulled his wand from his pocket, and pointed it at the man. Then the man turned around. It was Snape. Remus stopped dead, his arm dropping to his side. "You." He growled.
"Yes." Said Snape, "Me. It turns out, there aren't any other stars in the sky. Not for me."
Remus let out a short, barking laugh. "And yet you killed her."
Snape's eyes darkened. "I never meant to."
"Why you.." muttered Remus, raising his wand again. But before he could shoot a single curse at the man in front of him, Snape was gone and Remus was alone in the grave yard.
He walked over to the grave Snape had been standing at. Remus felt tears in his eyes as he read 'JAMES POTTER, LILY POTTER
BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960
DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.'
And then Remus was sitting in the Gryffindor Common room. There was no one else there. He was also very cold. He noticed one of the windows was open, so he walked over and closed it, before walking to the fireplace, and holding his hands out to warm himself.
"Helll-ooooo there!" said a voice coming from the fire.
Remus pulled his hands away with lightning speed. There, with her head floating in the fire, was Tonks. "Oh. Hello Dora." said Remus. "Have you, erm, been here long?"
"No." Tonks told him. "I showed up because you wanted me to."
Remus looked confused. "Why?"
Tonks laughed. "This is a dream, silly. That means you're in control of it." She told him.
"Oh." Said Remus, suddenly feeling sad. "But will I ever meet you in real life?"
Tonks laughed again. "How should I know? I'm a figment of your imagination, remember?" she told him.
"Right." Said Remus, who was feeling very distressed. "Well… I'd like to meet you in real life."
Tonks smiled at him. "I'd like to meet you too." She told him. Then she glanced towards a window. "Sun's rising." She said, "You'll have to wake up soon."
"Will I see you tomorrow?" asked Remus desperately.
"I don't know." Said Tonks. When she saw his saddened face, she continued "It's the full moon, isn't it?"
"Right, yeah. It is." Said Remus, "So I'll see you if I fall asleep beforehand, right?"
"Or afterwards." Agreed Tonks.
"I'll see you," said Remus, "If not tomorrow night, then the night after."
Tonks smiled. "I look forward to seeing you again, Remus."
"Bye." Murmured Remus, as he felt himself slipping back into wakefulness.
Remus sat up, and glanced at the clock beside him. 7:00 am. He yawned, thinking about his dream. "This one," he thought, "was definitely the weirdest yet!"
X x X x X x
Remus was in a forest. He recognized this forest. It was the forest near his home. It was the forest he had been bitten in. He could see the clearing up ahead.
He'd seen this forest, this clearing in his dreams before. He very often had nightmares about that fateful night he was bitten. He was walking towards the clearing. This was how the dream always started. Knowing what was coming, Remus tried to turn around and run away, or at the very least stop, but he couldn't. His disobedient feet kept walking. He glanced up at the sky. The full moon hadn't reached the tip of the old spruce tree yet… there was still some time. The werewolf always appeared when the moon reached the spruce.
"Watcher!" said a voice behind him. Remus spun around, surprised he was able to this time. It was Tonks.
"Dora…" he breathed, before realising the danger she was in. There was a full grown werewolf coming, and he'd be in the clearing any second now. "Dora, you have to get out of here!" he told her, "It's dangerous."
She scoffed. "I'm an Auror, Remus! I'm trained to do dangerous stuff."
"No Dora, you don't understand!" he told her, "You have to go!" He looked up at the sky. He was nearly out of time. And the one time that he could run, he wasn't because he had to get Dora out of there. He had to keep her safe.
Suddenly, he felt his blood boiling, just as it always did before the transformation. He looked back to the sky. The moon was at the spruce. And that was when he knew.
This nightmare would be different than normal. It was different, because this time he wouldn't be hunted… he was the hunter.
"Run Dora!" shouted Remus, before he fell to the ground as spasms racked his body, feeling like the blood inside his very veins had turned into molten lava.
He saw Dora finally figure out what was happening. But instead of running screaming, she shook her head, a sad look on her face. She blew a kiss in his direction, before apperating swiftly away.
His last coherent thought before giving in to the hostile beast fighting for control of his mind was "Thank Merlin she's safe."
It was hours later when Remus finally regained his thoughts. He found himself curled into a tight ball on the floor of the shrieking shack, absolutely naked.
All in all, a relatively normal way to wake up after the full moon. He stood up, despite his aching muscles, and pulled on his robes, which had been sitting in a pile beside him, just where he had left them.
He had seen her. He had seen Dora. But he had not enjoyed the dream at all. It had been a nightmare, worse than any nightmares he had had before. Remus was just glad it was over.
X x X x X x
Remus was standing in the Great Hall, and it was completely empty. The usual tables weren't even there. Then, the doors opened, and an ancient old wizard with tufty hair that looked like duck fluff came bustling in.
"Aah, good. You're here." He said.
Remus tried to ask what was going on, but found he couldn't, so he simply nodded.
"Right then," said the wizard, "All set are we?" then, without waiting for Remus's response, he said "Good, good. The bride'll be here soon, won't she?"
"The bride?" asked Remus, finding he was finally able to speak.
"Yes, the bride!" said the wizard, "You will need one if you plan to get married, you know."
"Married?" asked Remus, bewildered.
Then, he heard Dora's musical laughter, and he turned around. There she was, bedecked in bridal finery, walking in the doors of the Great Hall. "Better get the ceremony done before he can utter a coherent sentence. Wouldn't want him getting cold feet now, would we?" she said.
"Dora…" Remus breathed, "You look beautiful."
Tonks smiled. "Thanks Remus. You look pretty darn good yourself." She told him. It was then that Remus noticed he was wearing dress robes.
The tufty-haired wizard cleared his throat. But before he could speak, however, the Great Hall melted away, taking him with it. Remus found himself sitting at the Hogs Head with Tonks beside him.
"Spiffy place to take a girl on a date." She said. She was no longer wearing a bridal gown, but a pair of ratty jeans, and a Weird Sister's t-shirt.
While there were plenty of things Remus could say to this, he simply said "Well, beggars can't be choosers." He paused and thought for a moment, then said "Besides, this place now officially holds a special place in my heart."
"Why?" asked Tonks, "It's the only pub in the world that has goats?"
Remus laughed. "Well, there's that, but I was thinking more because it's the first place I saw you." He told her.
"That is very romantic." Murmured Tonks, as she leaned towards him.
"I try." Whispered Remus, before kissing her softly.
And suddenly, his blissful dream-land melted away, and Remus found himself lying in his bed, at Hogwarts.
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. The dream had been… well, a little odd at the beginning, but perfectly nice by the end. Remus sincerely hoped he would have more dreams like that.
X x X x X x
Remus continued dreaming about Tonks night after night for years. The dreams only stopped when he met her in person… which was perhaps the weirdest experience of his life. But he didn't really mind, because ever since that first night, all he'd really wanted was to meet her for real.