Moving On

Ch. 1: Shadow of Things to Come

"We'll discuss this later," Remus spoke firmly, but without any trace of hostility, and gently set his half-drunk glass on the small, highly polished kitchen table and absent-mindedly ran his fingers through his hair. He studied his distorted reflection in the bright surface, noting that in the mahogany veneer he didn't look nearly as old as he felt. He waited for Tonks's reply for several moments, before turning around just in time to see the hem of her midnight blue robes disappearing through the doorway.

He sighed and stood up slowly, took a deep breath, picked up his glass and gulped the rest of the firewhiskey in one swallow. He felt a warmth seep through him that had nothing to do with the oppressive midsummer heat, steeling him for a possible confrontation. Then he made up his mind and followed her into the parlor. It seemed like everything he did was wrong; all of it was wrong.

"Look, Dora, we can't—" he began, but Tonks cut across him.

"What we can't do is just ignore this and pretend it'll go away. You and I both know that that isn't going to happen." She spoke firmly, but Remus knew she was on the verge of tears. He looked into the grey-blue eyes that were so like her cousin's and felt himself giving in—at least for now. No good would come of arguing with her, especially on such an important night.

"You're right, of course, but tonight simply isn't the time for announcements. We have to stay focused. Everyone needs to be focused. We have no idea how dangerous or complicated the evening might be. Once we get Harry moved and everything settles down, we'll be able to tell everyone properly," he said softly, placing emphasis on "properly." Keeping his eyes on his wife to gauge whether or not his words had produced the desired reaction, he waited. Before he had a chance to decide if he should rephrase his suggestion, he saw her face soften. Sensing that she needed to be held, he moved toward her deliberately, sidestepping the sofa between them and extending his hands in a sign of apology.

"Do you mean it? You're not just trying to placate me, are you?" Tonks unsuccessfully attempted to hide her excitement at the prospect of a proper announcement of their impending parenthood. Their wedding had been so quiet and so poorly attended that she needed this to go smoothly, needed it to provide some sense of normalcy in these dark times. More than anything else, though, she needed to know that Remus hadn't conceded to marry her, to be with her, against his wishes. She wanted to feel like they were united in their desire to build a life together. She understood that his life had been more fraught with pain than she could comprehend, but she had come to believe that he genuinely loved her. Lately, though, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd been wrong. In fact, she frequently feared that he regretted their life together.

Remus moved to her and wrapped her in his arms, whispering gently that he certainly meant it. He felt guilty playing on her desire to become the perfect nuclear family and to present that image to the rest of the wizarding world, but he had neither the energy nor the inclination to initiate or sustain a full-blown row. His mind was elsewhere. As he held her, he felt her relax and knew that she had come round to his way of thinking. At least for the moment.

By the time they were ready to leave for Molly and Arthur's, Tonks's mood, and the atmosphere between them, had improved dramatically. Her hair, which had turned a sickly shade of grey/pink during their misunderstanding, was once again bright pink and her cheeks were flushed enough to match.

"Kind of exciting, isn't it?" she asked as she stooped to pick up the broom she had inadvertently kicked out of Remus's hand as they stepped out the front door of their flat. "I've been an Auror for years now and I've never gotten to help move a VIP!"

"I suppose, though I think I'd prefer this evening be anything but exciting, given that when it comes to Harry Potter, excitement tends to be rather dangerous," Remus reminded her, though he knew she was as familiar with Harry's history as he was. After all, in her line of work she had vast resources at her disposal to keep her informed of any dark events, past or present.

"Colloportus," Tonks said as she tapped the doorknob with her wand. "Not that it'll keep any Death Eaters out, should they come calling," she added wryly.

Remus smiled at her and silently reflected that it was better to hold onto such little, quotidian details in such times, whether they served any practical function or not. They helped keep one from going mad. He reached out and took her outstretched hand and together they turned into the crushing darkness.

When they opened their eyes and once again breathed in the humid night air, they were standing just beyond the gate of the Burrow. They could hear Kingsley's booming voice, but couldn't make out his words. As they drew nearer, it became clear that Kingsley had stepped in to prevent Mad-Eye from cursing Mundungus into oblivion. Apparently, the latter had a few reservations about the evening's activities.

"You cowardly, back-stabbing, slimy, no account squit! You will NOT be ducking out now! It's preposterous, completely out of the question…" Mad-Eye's diatribe was drowned out as Kingsley cut across him.

"Now then," he began, much louder than necessary. "Everyone is here, so I suggest we get moving." He turned to face Molly, who was standing in the doorway, blocking a visibly irritated Ginny from stepping outside. "Molly, a pleasure as always." With that he bowed his head and stepped quickly beyond the gate to disapparate with a barely audible "pop."

Arthur, after kissing his wife briefly on the cheek, followed suit, as did Fred, George, Ron, Bill, Fleur, Hermione, and Mundungus, followed closely by Mad-Eye, Remus, and Tonks.

Before reaching the gate, Tonks called to Mad-Eye, "Where's Hagrid?"

"Already on his way with that blasted bike and the thestrals. Probably beat us there, the rate we're going."

The three of them vanished at virtually the same moment, en route to the same destination…