A/N: This fic is part of a post-HBP alternate history where Voldemort was vanquished in the middle of Harry's seventh year (see my profile for details). This story begins about a month after the final battle.

Standard disclaimers apply.

Chapter One: The Lone Wolf

January 13, 1998

Remus Lupin pulled himself upright, hissing between his teeth. The wooden floor of his cell was raw and unvarnished, definitely not somewhere pleasant to spend the night. His shoulder felt half-dislocated and he was going to have to do substantial work on himself to erase the scratches peppering his body. But through the room's single window, an overbright shaft of winter sunlight flooded in and warmed his torso. That was something, at least.

If someone had told him when he was a teenager that one day he would dearly miss Severus Snape, Remus would've laughed himself silly. Here he was, though, wishing that Snape was still alive and available to brew Wolfsbane. This marked his seventh transformation without it, and he marveled at the abuse his body had been able to take when he was younger. Either he had damaged himself over the years or he was simply getting old. If he asked Dora, she'd certainly assert the latter.

A small smile crept across Remus' features as he hobbled stiffly towards the door and threw the complicated, werewolf-proof lock on the door, stepping eagerly back into the warmth of the small cottage he shared with Nymphadora Tonks. The kitchen, for once, was pristine. He entered their bedroom and noticed that the bed was made and only three sets of robes were strewn over the smoothed blankets. It seemed that Dora had finally decided to take him seriously when he said he was sick of everything being a mess after transformations and having to clean up when he wasn't feeling well.

The memory of their last argument made him feel more than a twinge of guilt. Really, the young Auror was too good to him and already went so far out of her way to accommodate him. She bought this cottage in the middle of nowhere so that he could safely transform, even though he was sure she would be happier in a cosmopolitan flat of some sort. There were a lot of places he wasn't welcome, as a known werewolf, and they were surviving solely off of her salary. She always teased him by saying he earned his rent as her love slave, but she was still young and he wondered how long she'd be content at their modest standard of living as her friends moved into more extravagant lifestyles. Thank heavens for her friends, though. Dora ran with a great group of people. They were accepting of her relationship with him and treated him like any normal wizard, and were available for Dora to do her "young people stuff", as she called it. Among other things, she could count on them to go out on the town with her once a month during the full moon. Poor Dora, she couldn't stand to hear him howling and tearing all night long. It was a better arrangement all ways around if she wasn't there; she could blow off steam and avoid hearing him, and he didn't wake up fearing that he'd escaped and hurt her in some way.

Remus threw on a pair of loose flannel trousers and went back to the kitchen, where he took a bar of chocolate from the kitchen counter and put a rather large chunk in his mouth. Still chewing, he ambled over to the fridge and examined its contents. He selected a plate of roast beef and began to eat it cold at the table. It was so routine for him that he was only dimly aware that his food choices didn't mix well. He always made enough meat for leftovers before the full moon. Tonight he'd make something for her. She adored everything stir-fry. Maybe he'd hit up Diagon Alley for some fresh ingredients.

"Hello? Hellloooo! Anyone awake? I'll come through here if I have to!" The female voice was emanating from the living room. Remus padded over and, as he suspected from the timbre of the voice, Estella Dearborne's head was nestled in the emerald flames of the fireplace. The Auror was Dora's close friend and co-worker. "Morning, Remus!" she said cheerfully. "I'm just here on break to check on the sickie."

Remus blinked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"Is she asleep?" Estella stuck her head as far into the living room as she could, blowing her fringe out of her eyes so she could better see her surroundings.

"Who?"

"Tonks, of course! Rough night, was it?" she asked, surveying his injuries. "Did you hit your head?"

"Dora's at work," Remus said slowly. "With you."

Estella's ever-present grin slid off her face. "No she ent. She was so sick last night that she barely stayed out at all. I..." The grin returned. "You're having me on, aren't you?"

"Estella, where is Nymphadora?"

"You're...not joking?"

"When did you see her last?" he pressed her.

"Last night! She looked peaky, so I offered to accompany her home but she laughed me off, you know how she is."

Remus' insides turned to ice. "She didn't come home last night," he breathed. "I thought she'd cleaned up, but she wasn't home to make a mess."

Estella's hazel eyes were wide. "Remus, this isn't good."

"You're positive she's not at work?"

"You're positive she's not here?" she retorted.

"I- could you put a trace on her?" he asked.

Estella bit her lip. "She'd have to be missing three days-"

"Look, she's obviously missing."

"I might be able to swing twenty-four hours if I say she missed an expected engagement, but Remus, you can't authorize it. You're not next-of-kin."

"I'm going to her parents then," he said grimly. "And I'll try to trace her myself in the meantime."

Estella nodded. "I don't know if she planned to Apparate or Floo; it could've been either since she'd only had a Butterbeer or two. I'll get people out around the Dragon's Claw to look for any clues. This isn't right."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me. We haven't found her yet." Estella blinked. "I didn't mean it like that. Let's just say that the girlie's going to have a lot to answer to for making us so worried!" She offered Remus a wry smile.

"I'd better go get dressed."

"Why bother?" she quipped. "Just convince people bare chests are werewolf chic."

"Ha ha," he said humourlessly as she disappeared back into the fire.