I don't own these characters but the ideas are mine :)


Dear Mr. Lupin,

I urgently require your presence in my office. I realize that tonight the moon will be full but I'm confident that you needn't worry. It is imperative you do not use the Floo Network as we do not currently know who is monitoring it. Perhaps you could bring some Licorice Wands?

Albus Dumbledore

Remus Lupin cautiously walked through the halls of Hogwarts cursing Dumbledore's timing. How could he not worry about the full moon? The man may be getting up there in number but surely he could not have forgotten that the werewolf was dangerous around humans. Lupin shrugged off the thought as he reached the statue concealing the stairs to the Headmaster's office. He felt a foreboding chill creep through his entire being. Lupin wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to continue but he couldn't not go; he was summoned by Dumbledore, and no one ignores Albus Dumbledore. Muttering the password, Lupin ascended the now available stairs.

He could hear the hushed voices of at least two people coming from inside the door. Now or never, he told himself. Lupin quietly knocked on the door, which opened immediately.

"Good evening Albus. You requested my presence?" Lupin asked apprehensively as he took a few steps into the room.

"Ah yes, Remus. How are you this evening?" Dumbledore's tone was not unwelcoming, but he didn't exactly seem pleased to have this meeting either. The Headmaster was sitting behind his large desk, looking older than usual.

"Err, could be better, full moon tonight you know."

Dumbledore gave a grim nod and glanced to whoever was seated in front of him. Lupin couldn't see who was sitting in the chair as he had yet to fully enter the room. He was suddenly worried the jig was up. Someone from the Ministry must have gone over Dumbledore's head and was going to try to take him in. Though that toad of a woman Umbridge no longer worked at the Ministry, her horrid and demeaning half-breed legislations were still in effect. Lupin hadn't registered himself as a werewolf yet. In fact, he had no intention of registering himself. Because of the dark times, the Ministry was overworked and mainly focused its time and resources on capturing Death Eaters, dark creatures were almost an afterthought, but he was sure they had finally caught up with him. That would be why he had to be here on the full moon. The Ministry had a habit of capturing werewolves in their full form to show how deadly they are to society. Such despicable tactics were now the norm at the Ministry.

Lupin cautiously walked up to the unoccupied chair and sat down, careful to avoid looking at the person in the next chair. He wanted to avoid attention for as long as possible, not that that was possible at all. Instead he looked around the room. Dumbledore's office hadn't changed much since his last visit. There was an abundance of interesting knickknacks and magical artifacts, Fawkes was sleeping on his perch, and the portraits of the office's previous occupants were seemingly keeping themselves busy. They looked awfully uncomfortable. Now he knew he was in trouble. A stone basin caught his attention. It usually was kept in its nook along the wall but now it was in the middle of the room, behind Dumbledore's desk. Odd, why would the Ministry need the pensieve?

"Remus, I brought you here tonight because you are uniquely qualified to help with a terrible situation we find ourselves in. I do apologize about the timing, but tonight there really is no need to worry. You will transform here, in my office. We have made accommodations of sorts for you." Dumbledore gestured behind Lupin.

"Uniquely qualified? Why else would the Ministry…" As he was speaking, Lupin turned his head in the directing of Dumbledore's gesture and caught sight of the third person in the room. He choked on his words and struggled for air.

She was sitting in the chair with her back to him, hugging her knees to her chest, staring into the side of the chair. Though he could not see the woman's face, he knew it was her. Lupin hadn't seen her for months. Not since Sirius died. Not since he took an undercover mission to liaison with the werewolves. It hurt to remember how he broke her heart, but he did it to protect her, to keep her safe. It was for her own good, wasn't it? Her appearance startled him. She looked as if she hadn't eaten in weeks. Her hair was a wavy dark brown that cascaded past her shoulders. He had never seen that style on her before and paired with her emaciated appearance and her demeanor, he was completely sure he didn't like it at all; it reminded him of someone.

"Nymphadora?" The woman buried her face deeper into the chair, as if she hoped it would swallow her whole. She looked so small and lost. Dumbledore was also looking at Tonks, with a look of unease.

"Sir, what's going on?"

"Have you been taking your potions from Severus this week Remus?" Lupin nodded. "Splendid, here's another for good measure." Dumbledore slowly pushed a clear goblet full of thick grey liquid towards Lupin, who accepted and drank it as quickly as possible. He still didn't know why he was here, but he was grateful for the extra precaution. Dumbledore knew his worst fear was biting someone, but if he asked Lupin to be there, then there must be a reason. No that fighting Dumbledore's decisions would have gotten him anywhere.

"Miss Tonks, here's something for you as well." Dumbledore pushed a brown mug full of, something, towards her. Tonks made no movement at all, which prompted Minerva McGonagall came out of the shadows and hand it to her. Tonks slowly took the mug and drank from it, choking on the contents. When she reached out her arm to place it back on the desk Lupin noticed that her arm was covered in bruises, with a bloody bandage that ran from her mid arm to her wrist. Her robes covered the rest and he wondered how far up it went. Fear filled him. "Was there an attack," he whispered.

"Miss Tonks has asked us to gather here. A few weeks ago there was an incident and she has important information that could greatly advance the outcome of this war in our favor. However; we must obtain this information from the pensieve, and Miss Tonks has willingly given us the use of her memories."

"Why do we need her memories?" Lupin was confused. "Why can't she just tell us?" He turned his attention to Tonks when he heard a sob. Her whole body was shuddering as if she was suppressing every emotion she was capable of feeling. Alarmed, Lupin reached out his hand but as soon as it touched her back she flinched, withdrawing deeper into the chair. He withdrew it immediately. "Nymphadora?"

Silence.

He glanced at Minerva who looked as if she was about to break out in tears. This alarmed him greatly. Minerva McGonagall was not like most women. She was able to stay objective in any situation and she certainly never broke out in tears over a Death Eater attack. Lupin didn't know what to do. He still loved Dora with his entire being, but he had pushed her away. All the same, he couldn't just not comfort her, even if she didn't want it. He returned his hand to her back and left it there even though she flinched again. "Nymphadora, talk to me. Please."

Tonks jerked her body away and stood up facing him. Lupin paled when he saw her face. Momentarily stunned, he forced himself to only see her eyes. They were a dark, cloudy gray, a color she'd never worn before. He tried to dwell on this tiny detail before the rest of her face came back into view. Her face was covered in bruises and she had a split lip that for some reason hadn't healed yet. But the most horrifying were the four fresh red scars that diagonally tore their way from her temple to her check, running over part of her mouth and her left eye, which was still fused shut. The wounds almost mirrored his own. Then it dawned on him, the only one capable of such a thing… "Greyback," he breathed softly. Lupin couldn't look at her anymore; staring at the floor he felt the tears fall. "I'm so sorry Nymphadora. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"STOP CALLING ME NYMPHADORA!" she screamed. "You lost that right when you left me! This is entirely your fault Remus Lupin, you let his happen. If you weren't so obsessed with hating yourself you would have been there to protect me." Tonks was shaking and her face was full contorted in rage and pain. Minerva pulled her into a tight embrace, softly stroking the Tonks' hair. Tonks buried her face into the older woman's robes and sobbed uncontrollably.

Lupin let her words wash over him. 'Of course it was my fault', he thought, 'How could I have believed I deserved to be happy. I should never have allowed her to love me. I should have pushed her away before there was an us. I hate myself too.' Tears filled Lupin's eyes as he turned to Dumbledore, silently pleading for him to tell him what to do.

"I think it's time Miss Tonks, if you feel up to it."

"Let's just get it over with," she whispered, still in Minerva's arms.

"As you wish." Dumbledore got up from behind his desk and led the way to the pensieve. Minerva followed guiding Tonks, and Lupin slowly joined them. When they were all standing around the pensieve Dumbledore pulled out a small glass vial filled with a silvery milky liquid, uncorked it, and poured its contents into the basin. He leaned over the basin and soon the other followed suit.

When the mist cleared Lupin instantly recognized where they were, but it had changed completely. Tonks' flat was no longer warm and welcoming, but dark and sad. From the front door, there was a living room on the left, the kitchen nook on the right and a hallway dead ahead. Once there were photos lining the walls, a vase of flowers on the coffee table, and a bookshelf full of Auror handbooks and Muggle novels. Now there was nothing more than old Daily Prophets on the coffee table and a copy of Wuthering Heights on the bookshelf. The vase was in the corner, shattered, with dead moldy flowers strewn about the floor. The kitchen looked as if no one had stocked it in months, let alone actually used it. The only dishes visibly used were a teapot, mug and spoon. It appeared Tonks had gotten rid of all her furniture as well. Minerva and Dumbledore shared the same concerned look on their faces as they scanned the flat.

"You're all going to want to stand in the kitchen now. And uh, be prepared, it's not going to be pretty," she added staring at the floor. Snapping out of their thoughts, Minerva and Dumbledore followed Tonks to the kitchen noon and leaned against the far counter, leaving the living room completely visible. Tonks pulled herself up onto a counter facing away from the living room and hugged her knees to her chest. Remus however lingered next to the front door and he alone could see down the hall to where he knew her bedroom to be. A few moments later she pointed to the fireplace. "Remember, it's a memory, there's nothing you can do." Dumbledore directed this comment directly to Lupin. Lupin noted the Muggle clock on the mantle said 1:47AM.

Suddenly the room was filled with ash and three large figures filled the room. The first figure that came into view was McNair, one of the Death Eaters that broke out of Azkaban the previous year. The next figure surprised him; Dawlish, an Auror, was now brushing off the soot from his cloak. The third and last figure was Greyback. Lupin looked over at Tonks. Minerva had moved closer to her and was holding her hand. Dumbledore observed the scene with calm apprehension. They all waited silently, watching the scene unfold.


I hope you guys liked this one. Chapter two should be up in a few days! Please review :D