Tonks darted down the corridors of Hogwarts; she had been separated from Aberforth in an explosion and now had no clue where Remus was apart from something Aberforth had muttered about the astronomy tower. She weaved through battles, praying to see Remus, praying that she would get to at least get to speak to him one last time. The last time that they had spoken was when he had left to come and fight here. They had argued. She wanted to come and help but he insisted that she stay with Teddy until he arrived back. She bit her lip, feeling a pang of guilt at the fact she had defied him.
At last, Tonks wheeled around the next corner. At the foot of the stairs to the astronomy tower, she saw him. Remus was silently unleashing curse after curse, locked in a fierce battle with a masked Death Eater. His grey eyes were locked with the Death Eater's, total concentration radiating from their stoney expressions. Tonks sprinted toward the foot of the staircase and drew her wand; she saw Remus' eyes flicker toward her. The Death Eater sent a jet of green light over his shoulder before he even became aware of his target. Tonks dived out of the way, colliding with the cold, hard floor. She lifted her face in time to see a shower of debris raining down on her anonymous attacker. Remus rushed over to her, concern etched into every line of his aging skin.
"What are you doing here?" he asked roughly, although his hands were gentle as he helped Tonks to her feet. He pulled her into a nook that was previously occupied by a suit of armour, shielding them from view. She suddenly felt anger rise in her chest.
"I've come here to make sure you're okay!" She said fiercely, grabbing her arm from his hands.
"Of course I'm okay! You should be-"
"I can't stay at home Remus! You don't know what it's like!" Tears pricked at her eyes as Tonks looked determinedly at her husband. "There's no way of me knowing who's winning and who's losing, who's alive and who's dead-" Tonks's voice broke as she released the emotion that had been slowly building inside of her. Remus's hard expression grew softer and Tonks saw worry in his eyes.
"But Teddy..." Remus started. A wave of fresh tears hit Tonks, but she shook her head, ferociously blinking them back. Without breaking their gaze, Tonks reached out her hand and held Remus's tightly. Remus eventually broke their stare and looked down at their entwined fingers. Tonks's wedding ring glinted gloriously in the moonlight.
"Teddy is safe with my mother," Tonks said, finally breaking the silence between them. Remus raised his glittering eyes to meet her own. Tonks could see that they were moist.
"What if we both-"
"Die?" Finished Tonks in a whisper. She felt Remus squeeze her hand tightly; he was unable to stop a tear from spilling down his cheek. Tonks raised her hand and wiped the tear gently with her thumb from his warm face. She leaned in and kissed softly where it had fallen.
"He will be looked after." said Tonks, quietly. "He will know that we died trying to save this world, and make it a better place to live in – for him." She strained her voice, trying to find the strength to say those last few words. She did not want to leave her son. She loved him more than she could comprehend. But, as she gazed into Remus' eyes, she knew that he understood. The pair came to a mutual understanding of one another, a deep and significant agreement. They needed to face this war together. If it was to end in death, then so be it.
Tonks released her hand from Remus's slackened grip and hooked her arms around his neck. Remus leant in toward her, his deep eyes coming closer; she couldn't bear it any more. Her lips slammed onto his. At first he was taken aback, however he returned the kiss as passionately as Tonks had ever felt him. She felt a moan escape her throat as their lips were locked in one another's. Tonks fervently caressed his bottom lip with her tongue. He pressed her further against the wall, one hand entangled in her short, vibrant hair, the other wrapped around her waist, pressing against the bottom of her back. Tonks kissed Remus as though it were the last time she ever would. She didn't want to stop; not now there was a chance that she would never feel him like this again.
A scream from the tower above crashed over the couple and Tonks begrudgingly brought herself back to reality. She parted her lips from Remus's, but did not step back. He was still holding her in a passionate embrace against the castle wall. Tonks couldn't help herself but let out a giggle. Remus gave her a searching look.
"I feel like a naughty school girl!" she chuckled, nostalgically. To her delight, she saw a grin spread over Remus's face. It made him look so much younger and happier. For a few moments, the terror surrounding them slipped from her mind. It was just her and Remus in their own crazy world.
"I love you," proclaimed Remus quietly, after their laughter had ebbed away. His smoky eyes seemed to encase so many emotions. Sadness was prominent. Tonks knew that this was inevitable. However, she also saw pride and happiness and peacefulness. She had been the one who made him blissful and whole.
"And I love you," she replied, with utter conviction. Remus gave her a fleeting smile, but suddenly, Tonks saw a jet of red light fly over Remus's head and she pulled both of them down to avoid the curse. The Death Eater who had previously been crushed by the falling wall of the castle had emerged, and his mask was gone. It was Dolohov.
Remus jumped to his feet, drawing his wand. Dolohov glanced down at Tonks and sneered.
"Having a nice little smooth with your mrs-" however Dolohov did not finish his sentence, for Remus had just sent a blast of green at the Death Eater, who had to jump to the side to miss it. The smirk had vanished from his face now. He stood there glaring at Remus with a murderous look in his cold, black eyes. As Remus returned the cold glare, colours of light shot from their wands, colliding in mid air, just missing one another. They duelled fiercely and silently. Tonks got to her feet and began forward, she too brandishing her wand; however Remus pushed her back with his free arm. One spell from Dolohov unbalanced Remus and he stumbled to his right, exposing Tonks. She had not been expecting it; her wand lay uselessly at her side and the sneering Dolohov had already raised his, ready to strike.
"Advada Kedavra!" screamed Dolohov audibly for Remus to hear, relishing in his moment of evil. However, before Tonks could even formulate a single thought, Remus leaped before her.
"No!" She shrieked desperately. The flash of bright green hit Remus just above his navel and he crumpled. Tonks stared down at her soul mate. His mouth was half open, as though a gasp of shock was still exiting his lips. They would never meet hers again. His now glassy, blank eyes would never gaze into hers. Not now. Not after-
"You!" Tonks jumped to her feet, anger seeping out of every pore on her skin. Greif tried to overwhelm her, yet anger chased the image of Remus's corpse from her mind. All she could think about was cursing Dolohov, hurting every single part of him. Tonks raised her wand, as did Dolohov in unison. They duelled almost as silently as he did with her husband; however she couldn't help but scream certain spells from her lips, anger possessing her mind. Tonks knew that Dolohov was better at duelling, but every one of his fatal curses seemed to be missing her by mere millimetres; he could simply not harm her.
As one of Tonk's spells knocked Dolohov off balance, he stumbled over some debris and fell hard to the floor. Tonks towered over him. "Crucio!" she screamed mercilessly. Dolohov writhed helplessly beneath her as she avenged her husband. Tonks let satisfaction seep into her body as she watched his evil face contorted in agony, his screams pierced the dulled racket from the rest of the castle. Dolohov panted as Tonks lifted the curse.
"Aren't you going-" Dolohov began cockily. Tonks silently sent the green killing curse directly into his chest before another world could exit his murderous lips. She watched Dolohov's sinister expression fade, and the cold life leaving his eyes.
"Ahahahaha!"
Tonks whirled round to see Bellatrix sauntering slowly toward her. Anger continued to thump through her veins. If Bellatrix wanted a fight, that's exactly what she was going to get.
"So your poor werewolf's gone and got himself killed then?" Sneered Bellatrix, glaring at Remus' body on the ground. Tonks steadied herself. She needed to wait for precisely the right moment. Bellatrix was probably one of the most skilful of Death Eaters; Tonks must ignore the grief that was begging to be released. "And you managed to finish of Dolohov? I 'spose he's the one that killed the werewolf, then. My little niece got her revenge, oh how sweet!" Bellatrix's voice rose into sickly, high pitched mocking sound.
"You'll get what you deserve," Tonks said quietly, "You and the rest of the Death Eater scum that made the mistake of entering Hogwarts tonight." Her words were quiet, but effective. Bellatrix's eyes widened.
"And you think you'll be the one to finish me off do you?" Bellatrix said in disbelief, "I think – no, I know that it'll be the other way around. You see, I'm making quite a habit of clearing out my Black family traitors. Why stop now?" The obvious remark about Sirius tipped Tonks over the edge and she had half raised her wand when, on her left hand side, a portrait burst open. A young, Gryffindor boy, evidently underage, was clambering through. He had evidently managed to sneak back into the castle to fight.
Tonks raised her wand in a split second, not at Bellatrix, but in front of the boy. Tears threatening her eyes for the first time after she had watched her husband succumb to Dolohov's curse, Tonks shouted, "Projecto!" and an invisible ripple of protection encased the young boy, shielding him from Bellatrix. Before doing so, Tonks knew that it was too late. It was too late to turn and defend herself. As she saw the green jet of light hurtle toward her from the tip of Bellatrix's wand, she closed her eyes and imagined her son's beautiful face, full of hope and future, take over her mind's eye. At least she would get to be with Remus now. As her heart swelled with happiness, the jet of green light lifted Tonks of her feet and she was flung to the ground, her hand landing poetically in Remus's outstretched fingers.