Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This was written for Lamia of the Dark's "A Kiss Before Dying" Compettion in the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Group. If you're wondering about the rather odd title it refers to the feeling that every time they kiss it might be their last. Enjoy.
A/N (added 1/11/2016): After rereading the chapter "The Sacking of Severus Snape" in a reading the books story, I realize this story isn't very accurate at some points. However I'm going to leave it how it is rather than editing it, just consider it slightly AU.Every Kiss the Last
They know their world could be torn apart at any moment. Any moment the door could crash in and black-hooded figures could be standing there, ready to murder them. Any moment they could get the message that someone they loved had died.
If he had been alone, he would have shut down. What is the point of living your life when it might end at any second?
But because of her, because of their child, he finds reasons to continue living, not just surviving, but truly living.
There is a new reason in every coo and cry from Teddy.
A new reason in every kiss, every touch, every word shared between him and Dora.
He learns to take every moment as it comes, to find joy in the midst of the terror and sorrow that seems to engulf the entire world.
The last day doesn't stand out from any other at the beginning.
They wake up, anxious as usual to see what the night may have brought, but they have received no news of dead friends today. They eat breakfast, they play with Teddy and for a few moments allow themselves to laugh and let their worries recede into the background.
After lunch Dora puts Teddy down for a nap. When she returns to the living room, she puts her arms around him and kisses him without a word, and he kisses her back. The kiss is tinged with the usual desperation, the usual fear that it might be the last.
Then later, they receive the call. It is time. Time to return to Hogwarts. Time to go into battle. He doesn't want her to come. He pleads with her. Teddy needs his mother. But even from the beginning he knows it is no good. She will never agree to stay behind. Silently they each hug and kiss their son goodbye.
He isn't sure who initiates the kiss, whether it is him or her. There is the usual desperation behind it, but amplified now, at the moment before they will go into battle. After a moment that feels both like a second and an eternity they break apart. They clasp each other's hands and Apparate, appearing in Hogsmeade a heartbeat later.
He leaves his wife in the Room of Requirement, praying that she will stay there where it was safe.
Later she finds him, and he thinks he should have known. No words are exchanged between them, there's no time for that, but the look they share communicates everything.
It's hard to tell how long they've been battling when it happens. The curses come for them almost simultaneously, green light blazing towards them. No time to leap out of the way. Just barely time to reach out and grasp each other's hands. And then they fall.
Hope you enjoyed this short little story. Please review and tell me how I did. I've never written a Remus/Tonks story before.