Summary: Lupin Tonks, Moody. Remus just needs some rest and decent food to recover from the full moon. And he thinks he'll find this at Tonks'?
Author Notes: Occurs during Order of the Phoenix at the beginning of the summer. This relies on the physical features of Lupin as presented in the PoA movie. Written Sep 12, 2004. Disclaimer: The characters belong to JK Rowling. The story was written for the pleasure of playing with her characters.
WANING MOON
POMFREY & MOODY
Remus Lupin was recovering from the full moon after suffering through an unexpected adventure that included a Dark Wizard, other werewolves, a dragon and a crazed animagus. Nymphadora Tonks had brought them directly to her flat shortly after dawn so he could recuperate in peace. How difficult could it be to tend to a man who needed rest?
By ten in the morning, Tonks was in a panic. She had woken to hear Lupin moaning incoherently and was unable to rouse him. She bit her lip as she considered the wisdom in alerting St. Mungo's, but instead snapped her fingers and ran to her bureau to pull out a mirror.
"Madam Pomfrey! Poppy? It's me, Tonks. I need your help with Remus Lupin." Tonks heaved a great sigh when she saw the head nurse at Hogwarts appear in the frame.
"Remus Lupin? What have you done to the poor man?" asked Pomfrey sternly.
"I'll tell you when you get here. Please, can you come?"
The face in the mirror was gone and ten minutes later there was a rap at her door. Tonks merely waved her wand to open it and called, "In the bedroom, Poppy!"
"Oh, this doesn't sound good," muttered Pomfrey to herself. She was rather relieved to find Lupin fully clothed in a t-shirt and light slacks as he lay on the bed, but his distress was clear.
"Can you help him? asked Tonks.
"Don't tell me the full story, I don't really want to know. Just give me the facts pertaining to his injuries..."
Madam Pomfrey got to work as Tonks gave her a summary. Pomfrey focused on her incantations and had Tonks help her get a potion down Lupin's throat. Ten minutes later, she put her hand on Lupin's forehead and nodded in satisfaction.
"He'll be all right now, Tonks. You did a good job of keeping him stable, but I can't believe you didn't send for a healer to check him before this. Dragon claws are filthy. I thought I taught you better than that, what with all the scrapes you got into at Hogwarts plus your Auror training."
"Yes, ma'am," said Tonks rather submissively. The Auror looked quite young to Madam Pomfrey as she explained. "I got, uh, distracted by the moment and all Remus wanted was a place to rest, so we just came here. I guess I should get him to Grimmauld Place so Molly can see to him. She'll do a better job."
"Being Molly coddled would give him no rest, Tonks. You did the right thing, but you have to remember that Remus is particularly helpless right now. It's your first time, isn't it?"
Tonks could only nod. "I bet you were never negligent."
Pomfrey merely shook her head and smiled wistfully. "I was just in my first year as a qualified healer when I started my position at Hogwarts. And then the Headmaster tells me that we're to have a special student begin for the fall. Oh my, you can't imagine how nervous I was about dealing with a werewolf! Yes, I made my mistakes."
The healer looked at her patient and brushed away the bangs from his forehead as if she were seeing the young boy she had first met. "But Remus was such a sweet boy. He never cried and only offered the mildest complaints about the horrible taste of his medicines. And he had that adorably shy smile. He'd help out in the infirmary whenever he could to 'repay my kindness,' he'd say."
"School boy crush?" asked Tonks with a smile of her own. It would make sense.
Pomfrey nodded. "Yes, but unlike some other boys, who shall remain nameless since one was your cousin, it was completely charming and chaste in its expression."
Tonks rolled her eyes. "I apologize for any misbehavior from Sirius if he failed to do so before he left."
"Luckily for me young Mister Black discovered girls his own age were more susceptible to his charms," offered Pomfrey with a light laugh. "He was a cocky one, though."
"So did Remus fancy you all through school?"
"He outgrew the crush after the first few years, but he never stopped being my most faithful assistant when I was in a pinch." Pomfrey added, "Every spring while he was at Hogwarts, I would find a pot of crocuses on my windowsill. I know he dug them up from the woods and you have to travel fairly deep to get the best ones."
Pomfrey patted Lupin's head as if he were a young boy there rather than a grown man. "For all the trouble he went through, he was always too shy to admit that he brought them to me."
"Then how did you know he left them?" asked Tonks.
"I always suspected because he'd make a point of mentioning how pretty they looked when he saw them. He was just waiting for me to agree. Then when Remus taught at Hogwarts, that spring, for the first time in sixteen years, the crocuses were there on my windowsill. He still didn't leave a note, but we shared a cup of tea together and just sat quietly looking at the flowers."
Tonks squeezed Lupin's hand and said, "Yes, that sounds just like him. Thank you for taking care of him at Hogwarts and for coming to tend him now. I'll get better at this, I promise."
Pomfrey quirked an eyebrow at this comment. The Tonks she remembered wouldn't have looked twice at such a peaky fellow. "Don't try to do it all yourself, Tonks. You need some of that restorative potion I left, too. And don't forget the healing salts. Just toss them into the bath water and it will ease the aches."
Pomfrey was already moving to the door, waving her wand to clear a path through the clutter on the floor, as Tonks assured, "I'll see that he gets them."
Before she left, Pomfrey added, "Remus might exhibit some side effects later. The Sanguinae potion tended to make him a little loopy as it wore off. I'd catch him jumping on the beds."
"I'll make sure he doesn't hurt himself," promised Tonks.
Pomfrey stopped one last time to say, "And speaking of beds, I'd get a larger one if you plan on making this a habit. Those extension spells on furniture don't last more than two hours if you don't remember to prolong them."
Tonks nodded and waved as she closed the door to her flat. She pressed against in relief that Pomfrey would come so quickly for Lupin. It wasn't often that one saw her out of her territory at Hogwarts.
She walked into the bedroom to find Lupin was still sleeping peacefully. Tonks had extended her bed again, but knew Pomfrey was right about getting a larger one. The question in her mind was whether Lupin would trust her to take care of him after this. She opened the box atop her bureau that now held the twin moonstones. The Wolfshadow amulets were evidence of Lupin's trust in her; she just had to have some faith in herself.
Tonks lay on the bed next to him and watched his steady breathing for a long time. She noticed he had the two pillows under his head and muttered, "You're breaking rule number three, Remus. Don't hog the pillows."
But instead of yanking one out, Tonks merely curled up next to him with her forehead touching his shoulder.
She thought about Remus Lupin as she drifted off to sleep. Venificus primo; direct descendent of Roman wizards, yet shunned by society. Wolf Hunter by legacy, but werewolf for life. His entire existence was a paradox. If he could find a way to live with all those contradictions, perhaps he could find a way to live with her, too.
- - - - - - - - -
Two hours later Tonks heard the knocking on the door and hurried into her living room, grabbing her wand as she went and shrugging into her Auror robe to cover her t-shirt. She stumbled twice on her way as she ineffectively dodged the clothing and miscellaneous items on her bedroom floor. In frustration she just pointed her wand to open the door to her flat.
One last stumble put her on her knees in front of Mad-Eye Moody.
"I'm glad to see you're grateful, Tonks, but you really have no need to kowtow to me."
Tonks scowled at her mentor and stood up quickly. "Wotcher, Mad-Eye. I just stumbled."
"I've been to Order headquarters and gave the essential details about our adventure last night. Molly sent you some food and said to just pop over if you need more."
"She doesn't think I can feed my patient I suppose," muttered Tonks. "There's enough here to last several meals."
"Hmf, it was my idea to send food. Can't have a trained Auror killing a citizen with her cooking." Moody stomped into her small kitchen and placed the bag he carried on the table.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," said Tonks as she opened the bag and pulled out the contents.
"I also need you to sign the final report I'm submitting at the office. Go on then, read," directed Moody.
Tonks took the parchment he offered and grabbed an apple to munch on as she read. She nodded, frowned, then understood.
"You managed to keep Remus entirely out of this. 'Upon inspection we identified suspicious raven...Gideon Skinner subdued in self-defense after attack against Aurors by Dark Arts orb...two werewolves subdued by conventional means, one killed...located and subdued contraband dragon held by Skinner.' You didn't even mention that the raven was an Animagus."
"Dumbledore has the full story. No one else needs to know about Lupin's involvement," said Moody.
"And for that, I thank you," said Lupin as he walked from the bedroom with a light wave of his wand aimed at the floor before him.
"Remus!" Tonks smiled, then frowned as she noticed he had parted the clutter on her bedroom floor to create a neat aisle. "You violated rule number two: ignore the mess."
"Was that a mess? I thought it was primordial slime. Could swear I saw something moving in it," said Lupin smoothly.
"I'm glad to see your good humor is back," said Tonks as she moved to help him to the table.
Although still barefoot, Lupin had dawned his shabby old wizard robe, she noticed. The man didn't like to expose any skin in public if he could help it. She'd need to work with him on that.
Once seated, Lupin asked Moody, "Why did you hide Tonks' ability to use the homorphus spell? I'd think that would have value to the Aurors."
Moody took a drink from his hip flask before responding. "Leandra Skinner transformed into her human form this morning, but still behaves like a wolf. Can't speak, only barks, whines, and snarls. Tonks could be held accountable if the homorphus spell reacted with the Wolfsbane somehow. I wouldn't advise using Lupin for target practice, Tonks."
"But there should be a warning to others. There are innocent werewolves who could be harmed," began Lupin.
"It's not like there's any other wizard around these parts who can do the spell, unless you believe Lockhart's lies." Moody took another swig from his flask.
"We need to talk to Severus about this at least. He's the best authority on the subject," said Lupin.
"I owled him already. He said he'd look into the theoretical interactions of spell and potion. Then he can write a scroll to submit to the Ministry about the potential for the homorphus spell rebounding in the werewolf who ingested Wolfsbane."
Tonks rubbed her forehead. "I can't imagine living like that. I didn't like the woman, but I just wanted her to leave Remus alone."
Lupin frowned as he remembered the encounter. "Didn't you call her a--"
"It was descriptive at the time!" said Tonks in defense. "Besides, I wanted to make sure I got her attention away from you. It was effective."
Lupin had to admit she was right. He didn't want to even consider the possibility of how he would feel if he'd mated with a werewolf. He had no intention of sharing his curse with his own child. His isolation during full moons had precluded this possibility before.
Lupin put a comforting hand on Tonks shoulder. "You didn't know this would happen. It was the first time you used the spell, wasn't it?"
Tonks nodded her head. "I've been studying it more closely since, well, since I got involved in the Order. The incantation felt natural to me. Do you know what I mean? So I kept visualizing it and practicing it until it was fluid."
The men merely nodded. Some spells came easier than others. Lupin said, "You have a natural skill for transfiguration. I wonder if all the successful homorphus spell casters were Metamorphmagi."
"Other than Lockhart, of course," said Tonks sarcastically.
Moody pointed to Tonks and said, "Snape expects to see you at the Leaky Cauldron this evening at seven. He wants the details of the spell from you, so don't you go standing him up."
Tonks rolled her eyes, but said, "I'll go but I doubt there's much I can tell him.
"And sign off here so I can submit the report to the Ministry. I got you off tomorrow as well since you had the brunt of the injuries." Moody walked toward the door once the document was ready and added, "You might think about increasing your security here. You let anyone who knows you have access to your flat. I could have walked right in."
"I'll keep that in mind, Mad-Eye. Thanks," said Tonks. After he left, she turned to Lupin and asked, "Want lunch? I can vouch for its safety."
"I think I can finally manage to eat."
"And then you have to drink some more potions," said Tonks.
"Yes, Nymphadora."
"And quit breaking rule number four!"
"Only if I'm bribed with chocolate," countered Lupin.
"Fine," said Tonks as she tossed a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate on the table. "The Chocolate Lovers without Lovers meeting is now called to order. First, we need to discuss penalties for breaking rules."
"Penalties?" Lupin looked dubious as he seemingly broke off a single piece of chocolate.
"Penalties shall be imposed without warning." Tonks snatched the rest of the chocolate bar away from him.
"You mean at your whim," muttered Lupin as he waved the extra piece of chocolate he had pilfered between two fingers.
"Just you wait, Professor. When you least expect it..."
Lupin raised his hands palms out in supplication. "I'll serve the penalty without fuss, I promise."
He didn't like the grin Tonks threw his way, but they ate their lunch in good company and settled in for another nap. As he felt her snuggling against his back, he thought again that Nymphadora Tonks was, indeed, better than chocolate.
TBC
Author Notes:
This story focuses on Lupin's recovery from the events in Wolfshadow and all occur in one day. (if you want to read the other stories, just hit Queriusole and the list comes up). You can follow it as a stand alone, though.
The first two chapters are light, the last chapter will be a bit darker. I'm trying to post them all tonight, but I'm not sure about timing issues for doing that at So three days at most to get them up. Honestly, I thought this would be a one chapter story when I began.
I used this chapter to explain some of Tonks' mistakes, whether intended or not, without reducing her to a stumbling naive girl, although I did use her clumsiness in the story. Lupin is weak after full moon, but I hope he still comes off as a strong person.
Wolfsbane and Homorphus spell interactions are completely fictional, but thought it would be a neat idea to present. I also wanted to emphasize why Tonks would have an advantage with performing the spell. It's like Harry's innate ability to use a broom.
I don't know where Pomfrey came from, but I enjoyed her visit and her story about the Marauders at Hogwarts. I could well imagine a juvenile Sirius "hitting" on an older woman and thinking he could succeed. (No, his behavior wasn't sexual harassment in my mind; he would never cross that line). And I think she'd be a perfect first crush for our dear werewolf.
Thanks for reading.
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