Lupin lowered himself into the nearest chair and put his fingers to his head, massaging his throbbing temples. The hospital wing was filled with a collection of red-haired people, but Lupin's eyes kept shooting glances at the mousy-haired woman in the corner. She had her back to him deliberately and leaned against the cold stone wall, staring out at the world as if, before today, she had never truly seen it. It would be far, far too easy to glide across the room and slide in his hands around her waist, to hold her and whisper in her ear that, as long as he walked the earth, he would never let anyone harm her.

"Remus..." He looked up, startled, to see Molly Weasley leaning down to peer into his eyes.

"Yes, Molly?" Lupin realized as he spoke that his voice held some of what he felt inside: Pain, confusion, sorrow. Need.

"Dear, you should get some rest, you look exhausted." Molly's eyes were filled with concern.

"I doute even a Dreamless Sleep Potion could put my guilty heart to rest at this point." Both Molly and Lupin glanced over at the window where the woman had yet to move an inch.

"Remus...we all know you love her." Molly whispered, patting his hand gently. "I think it's time she knew as well." Lupin sighed and, shaking his head slowly, pulled his hand from hers and layed his head down on the bed in front of him. Molly took the hint and wandered back to her family, who were all waiting eagerly for her report. Lupin blocked out all the noise and thought back to the moment when he had officially lost all control over his life.

"Wotcher, Wolfie." Lupin felt a hand slide up his back and onto his shoulder. Using all of his strength, he managed to ignore what this casual touch was doing to the knot in his stomach and keep a peaceful smile on his scarred but handsome face.

"Evening, Tonks. What brings you out here on such a cold night?" The night was indeed quite cold, with fat, fluffy snowflakes coating the ground. The village of Hogsmeade, where the two were stationed for the night, was still and quiet. Only a few lights remained on in the distant castle of Hogwarts.

"Sure beats being inside with Mundungus. Besides, it isn't that cold out." Her body chose that moment to betray her; She shivered uncontrollably for a few seconds.

"Where's your cloak?" Lupin asked, disapproving, eyeing her short-sleeve corset. The exposed skin on her arms had goosebumps, as did the beautiful flesh of her half-exposed chest, but Lupin prevented his eyes from straying too far down. He slipped off his own cloak as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Mundungus decided to use it as a teddy bear. Last time I checked it was between his legs." Her smile caused a rush of emotion as Lupin placed his cloak around her small shoulders. "Thank You." Her words were a whisper now, caressing his heart. He spun away and gazed up at the stars.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Tonks lifted her dark eyes to the sky. Lupin studied her for a few seconds, taking in the creamy perfection of her skin; Her lips, soft and tempting, pulled up into a smile; The wind playing in her vivid pink hair, causing it to wrap around her face like silk.

"Eh, the stars are...okay." Tonks turned her eyes to his and nodded as if she understood what he meant by this. A softness lingered in her eyes, now looking directly into his.

"Though I suppose I can't really call the beautiful." Her eyes smoldered into his as she took a step closer to him. "Not with you right here beside me." Lupin shook his head, dazed, trying hard not to believe that she was implying...

"What are you saying, Nymphadora?" His words could barely be heard over the noise of the wind, and Tonks knew this. She stepped close enough now so that her body was snug against his, her lush lips at his ear.

"Do you not know? From the moment we first met I felt as if I had entered a fairy tale. One day I'm miserable and lonely and the next, there you are. Simply being around you fills me with a joy that I have never felt before. I love you, Remus."

It was as if the whole world wanted Lupin to hear this. The wind quieted instantly so that there was no mistaking what she had said. His heart warmed and a smile played on his lips as she leaned his weight against his, wrapping her arms around his thin frame.

But instantly his smile turned into a grimace and his heart turned to ice because she was right: Only in a fairy tale would Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks belong together, Beauty and the Beast, the princess and the ogre. It could not be, it would never be.

Lupin eyed Tonks again, thinking upon that night over a year ago when he pulled her arms from around his waist and broke her heart for the first of many times. Had he done the right thing? Tonks spent the last year trying to convince him that they belonged together, but every time he allowed himself to fantasize about sharing his life with her it always ended with her blood on his hands.

But what's the point? He asked himself. You're sucking the life out of her just as you sucked the color from her hair.

The look in her eyes now as he watched her turn from the window and leave the hospital wing was lifeless. Dead. He longed to see that gentle smile of adoration pull at her lips once more. Lupin pulled himself from the chair and followed her out of the wing, feeling many pairs of eyes on his back.

Tonks was slowly heading for the grounds where Hagrid's hut sat smoking in the night. Lupin walked fast to her side and, deciding that it was now or never, grabbed her gently by the arm.

"Nymphadora." Tonks spun around slowly to face him, her eyes cold.

"Why do you call me that? You KNOW I hate it!"

"Well, because-"

"Because you live to piss me off! That's what it is, right? Every chance you get to hurt me, you take it! And let me tell you something!" Her voice raised passionately, painfully, and tears ran down her thinning cheeks. "I'm tired of hurting! I'm tired of feeling life there's something wrong with me, like I'm not good enough for...for y-you..." She broke off suddenly, unable to continue.

"No." Lupin's words were barely a whisper. He grabbed her when she swayed alarmingly and lowered her to the grass. She once more leaned into him as she had done a year ago and they stared up at the sky.

"Would you like me to tell you why I always call you by your first name?" Tonks nodded but said nothing. "Because it is beautiful, one of a kind. It lingers in a persons thoughts, no matter how hard they try to forget. It is mysterious, mesmerizing. Intriguing., Like nothing I have ever, and will ever, hear again. It is you." Lupin placed his hand under Tonks' chin and lifted it until their eyes met.

"Does this mean...I win?" Tonks tried not to hope but failed before she even started.

"I knew from the moment you told me. I knew that someday you would win, that you would crumble my will power. You win."

"No, we win." A smile life none he had ever seem was spread across her beautiful tear-strained face. Pure joy. Lupin wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her soft lips to his, warmth cascading over his body. A small voice in his head told him what he had known from the beginning but was too stubborn to listen to, until now: This is how it's supposed to be. A fairy tale come true.

When they finally broke apart Tonks smiled happily up at her lover, the wind once again playing in her now vivid pink hair. Together they gazed up at the sky once more.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Tonks whispered, tears of joy running down her face.

"Eh, the stars are okay." He kissed both her cheeks. "But I couldn't really call them beautiful. Not with you sitting beside me." Tonks lay her small hand against his cheek and he put his hand over hers, holding her to him, never wanting to let go.

"Sweet, sweet Nymphadora. I love you, too."