A/N: Not mine (: Just something I came up with; the AU I mean (: enjoy
I Love You Too
"Don't come Dora," Remus muttered as he buried his face into her now mousey brown hair. He took a deep breath of her scent, sighing as she whimpered into his shoulder, her thin arms tightening around his torso. He kissed the top of her head, her ear and her cheek before closing his eyes in defeat as he pried her arms from around him, "I have to go now,"
His heart broke as he saw her torn expression. Her hair was in a tousled mess, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at him. She bit her swollen lower lip, "Why?" Her voice was hoarse but Remus' heart swelled upon hearing it for the first time since he broke the news to her.
"Dumbledore asked," He replied, trying to pry away the desperate grasp she had on the lapels of his coat, "and I want to," Remus leaned forward, taking her sweet lips on his. She kissed him back eagerly, his fingers losing their grasps and instantly, he steeled himself for it, tearing himself away from her and in an instant, he was out the door.
She stared vacantly at the red burgundy door, "I love you too,"
Remus couldn't resist the urge to coo; no matter how unmanly that appeared to be.
A chuckle brought his attention back to the middle of the room; where the love of his life was lay on a large queen sized mattress. Her pink hair was disheveled and hung loosely around her face in wet strands. There were dark eye rings around her lovely grey eyes which now shone with pride, amusement and love.
The moment was gone and his love was found scrambling out of bed, awkwardly wincing while still limping forward.
"Dora," He whispered sternly.
"Don't move," was her reply, in her Auror voice and when she used it, no one defied her; especially not her husband. She fetched the camera from the top of the dresser and snapped the photo with a smile. Remus posed for it obediently.
"Alright, it's taken, now," He nudged her with his shoulder gently. Instantly, the bundle in his arms whimpered and coughed in what seems like a preampt of a loud crying fit. Both flew into action, cooing and shushing soothingly. She gently patted his little chest, her other hand palming his head; filled with orange hair. Only then, he finally settled again, his head against his father's broad shoulder and cuddled in his father's strong arms, "get back into bed," Remus whispered, looking to be only mouthing the words.
She laughed and cringed as she limped back to bed and crawled under the sheets gingerly, "you're going to be an amazing father,"
Remus must've made a face of doubt because she chuckled.
She rolled her eyes; as she always did whenever he raised a brow, "I love you too,"
"Dora!" Under normal circumstances, her presence would warm his heart but at this moment, it made his blood run cold and his heart stop, "what are you doing here?" In a heat of anger, he grabbed her around her arms and shook her.
With an annoyed expression, she shrugged him off, "I can't leave you to die alone, stupid," she snapped.
"So we die together?" He demanded, "And our boy? Our son." Remus practically seethed. She seemed taken aback for a moment, in stunned silence before her eyes strayed away from his angry husband and behind him. He spun around, wand at the ready but what met his eyes wasn't what he thought it would be.
It was Dementors. Thousands of them.
Remus froze. He'd been chasing Greyback in a fit of rage and had lost him at the edge of the battle, in the woods. She must've seen him and came after him. And now he had gotten them both trapped here with no one around for miles that can come to their rescue.
"Expecto Patronum," She muttered softly. Her calmness in battle never failed to awe him. An ethereal werewolf emerged from the tip of her wand, bounding towards the dementors. After a beat at marveling at the creature, Remus too summoned his.
They fought. They fell.
The misery bordered on pain; it is pain. And after a few seconds of bearing it, it all blurred together, the feel of a tree root sticking in his back, the feel of the soil that he clutched in a fist, the sound of her regular cries.
He sucked in a large lungful of much needed oxygen when the last blur of black left him and his head lolled to the side. She was there. Remus watched as a dementor hovered over her, sucking its fill as she trembled from the sheer amount of fear and misery she felt.
"Dora," He muttered and more dementors came upon him, feeding hungrily on his meagre but yet overwhelming amount of happiness that name and its person brought him. Hearing her cry out was like living a nightmare; it ripped him to shreds, wishing he could do anything to stop it. But that was what he wished and in reality, Remus Lupin had dropped his wand somewhere when the dementors overwhelmed his patronus and took him. She cried out again, "Dora!" He called louder in a raspy voice.
He closed his eyes against the sight of the descend of another dementor upon him but it never came, the agony.
When he opened his eyes, he only saw an ethereal werewolf loping around them. Remus felt her hand grasp his and turned to meet her eyes.
Her hair was plastered to her forehead and mousey brown, similar to his but a colour he never hated more to see on her; or rather, hated its significance. Her heartshaped face was pale and as he touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers, her skin felt clammy.
"Don't," She said, her voice shaking, "don't give it to them," She leaned in and he felt her lips on his.
"What?" He muttered, puzzled.
"Your soul," Her voice crumbled and she scrambled to nuzzle her face into his neck. Remus opened his eyes and looked up at the patronus shining brighter than ever as it drove away any dementors that neared them but the temptation was too much for the dementors to pass on. Remus had no doubt, with the two of them combined, they were the epictomy of happiness. He held her hand firmer.
"I won't," He replied as he took in the details of the wolf; its brownish grey fur, its tuff tail, its skinny frame.
"Remus," He could feel her warm breath on his ear and for a moment, he could easily have forgotten where they are, "Sweetheart, it'll be okay. I will always remember you. It will be enough for me,"
"Dora?" Remus frowned and then he felt the tip of her wand press on his temple lightly.
Her strangled voice was thick with agony, "Obliviate,"
His mind felt like it was being torn apart, each precious memory he held dear in his heart being taken; erased forever. Erasing his very life.
"He's waking," A woman's voice filled his ears, "Harry,"
Remus blinked as he took in his surroundings. It didn't take him long to know where he is; the Great Hall.
"Remus," Harry's visage filled his vision and he struggled to sit up. Harry's mop of black hair was windswept, worried lines carved into his face and his lips turned down. Lily's eyes looked at him, filled with concern as he looked into them.
"Harry," Remus muttered, trying to shake the pounding headache, "what happened? The battle…"
Harry pursed his lips, "we won," It was heartening to hear but Harry didn't look it. His brows were still drawn together and his eyes downcast.
"What happened? Who…?" A breath caught in Remus' throat. He remembered the last war well; always will for as long as he lived.
"Remus…" Harry placed a firm hand on his shoulder but Remus shrugged it off.
"Harry, tell me," Remus was well aware that he was using his professor voice, one that demanded truth.
"Fred," Harry croaked and Remus sank back into the mattress, eyes glazed as he worried for the Weasleys. A death of a child wasn't what a parent should go through; it was sheer torture. Remus wouldn't even know how he would live if Teddy were to… "Remus," Harry broke his train of horrified thoughts and Remus almost thanked him for it, "There's something else,"
Truthfully, Remus could see it all over Harry's face and readied himself for the worst.
"Tonks…" Harry started meekly, his face twisted in pain before he lowered his gaze to the sheet over Remus; seemingly unable to bring himself to face his ex-professor.
Remus frowned, "who?"
"Tonks…the dementors got to her before we got there and…" The door to the Great Hall burst open and in strut Charlie Weasley. Tear streaks marred his freckled cheeks and his face flushed an angry red to match his hair as he shoved Harry aside. He gathered the front of Remus' shirt into his hands and almost lifted the man off the bed.
"You!" His tone was that of agony and nothing else, his eyes, too, spoke volume of what he felt, "you promised to always honour, protect and love her!" Charlie roared.
Remus flinched as Harry and Ron pulled Charlie off of him by brute strength. Ron wrapped an arm around his older brother's chest as he struggled, flailing his limbs, kicking wildly at Remus. Remus had never seen so much hatred in one's eyes.
"You promised! No!" Charlie screamed before he collapsed, bringing Ron with him. Remus watched, absolutely puzzled as Charlie screamed in rage and loss, tears streaming down his face.
"Remus?" Harry approached him.
"Who is she?" Remus looked in Harry's eyes and saw surprise and puzzlement flash across his eyes.
"Tonks…she…she's your wife, Remus!" Harry took his shoulders in his hands and shook him, horrified.
"I-" Remus paused, flinching. His head was pounding, "I…I don't remember-"
Realisation dawned on Harry's face and the young man stomped across the Great Hall approach a bed that consisted of a young pale faced woman laying on the sheets. Her eyes were open, staring at nothing and her body was still. Harry picked amongst the pocket of her robes and drew her wand. Flourishing his own wand against hers, Harry was quiet as he got his answers.
"Harry?" Ron spoke up, glancing worriedly at Charlie who has gone quiet, staring at her.
"Obliviate…" Harry murmured, "that's the last spell Tonks did," He swallowed uncomfortably and turned to Remus.
"I don't remember…" Remus told him as their eye met.
Harry looked down at the wand in his hand, "She did for you…she did it so any happiness you related to her wouldn't attract any Dementors,"
"They wouldn't exist, would they? The happiness," Ron paled and began to look sick as Harry nodded. They watched as Charlie rose and shuffling numbly to her. He dropped to his knees by her and took her hand in his.
"Tonksie…" Charlie whispered, eyes shutting as he pressed his cheek to the back of her hand. He sniffed, running his thumb over her palm before kissing it gently, "can you hear me?" She barely blinked. Scoffing bitterly, Charlie stood and left, letting the doors of the Great Hall slam shut deafeningly.
Remus edged his way to his feet gingerly, still nursing his headache. He made his way over to her cautiously.
She looked in a daze, her hair was a mousey brown colour and her heart shape face pale. Remus lowered himself to the floor, touching her cheek with the tips of his fingers to feel soft warm skin. He brushed aside stray hairs from her face.
"Remus," Harry approached quietly, "do you remember? Anything at all?"
Remus stared at the beautiful woman, wondering how she could ever be his wife. Her almond shaped grey eyes were open but not seeing, "No. Nothing,"
The doors of the Great Hall opened once more and Harry managed to swallow a groan. Andromeda's normally neat brown hair was falling in strands around her face, in her arms, she clutches a bundle of blue; as if clutching dear life. Her eyes were wide as she searched the hall, horrified with what she would find. In all the confusion and pain, Harry had let Teddy slip his mind. The boy would have his father; but one who didn't remember-
"Teddy…" Harry heard Remus breathe out. In a flash, said father rose to his feet and instantly, was at Andromeda's side, taking Teddy from his maternal grandmother. Remus cradled Teddy in his arms, cooing at the blue haired infant as he brushed the infant's cheek with a finger. Teddy gurgled happily at his father and Remus smiled, as if he understood what the baby was saying, "Dada loves you too," and Harry absolutely believed; Remus did understand.
Remus stretched, leaning back in his chair as he pondered his work. In the corner of the room, on the sofa, Teddy was nestled snugly into his cradle, sleeping. Remus smiled before hunching over his work with a quill in his hand. He would have to get this children story for the bookshop done by tonight if he were to spend the day with Teddy over at Molly's and then the beach; like he promised the baby earlier in the day.
A month had past since the end of the battle and Remus had seen countless Obliviators with the hope of regaining his memories which his wife; Tonks, removed to save his life. They all said the same thing, "Memories are unpredictable things, Mr Lupin, intangible. I'm sorry but we are unable to help you regain these memories. The work is incredibly precise and it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to reverse this process, unless you can find the person who removed it. Then perhaps you will regain your memories."
When Remus heard that, he'd merely nod, say his thanks and take his leave. On his way home, he'd ponder his wife; known as Tonks to him. He must have loved her dearly for the removal of her existence from his memories to have a significant impact on the happiness he had; such that fewer dementors would target him and gave the rest some time to come to their aid. But that was beside the point.
The point is Tonks'd given her life for him; gave up her very existence in his memories for his life. For her to do that, without a doubt, Tonks loves him, unconditionally. And he couldn't even find it in him to love her back for he couldn't even recall her name without Harry's prompting of a single word 'Tonks'; by which he'd been labeling her as.
With a sigh and a glance at Teddy who was now lightly snoring in his sleep, he began writing. He wrote of a kind, loud, pink hair girl; thinking of the pink hair Teddy had been exceptionally fond of sporting recently. Remus chuckled to think of his son's embarrassment to know of such a phase he went through.
However, Remus hasn't even completed a paragraph when he paused. He needed a name for his characters, the children relate better to a simple story told with a name for the character and when the character is as fleshed out as much as possible. Remus bit his lips, scratching the wood of the table with his thumbnail as he pondered. In mere seconds, a name came up out of the blue and he scratched it down with his quill.
Dora.
A/N: Well, here's my first attempt at one shot. It basically covers the bases of Tonks/ Remus' relationship with an AU ending. I hope you enjoy it and I would love to receive feedback! Depending on the feedback receive, there could be a continuation I guess? I'll just go with the feedback :) For people who are not reading my other Harry Potter AU story going on, go check it out 'Don't Call me Nymphadora' (filled with angst, romance etc).
Please do Review!
