Summary: Tonks finds Remus stalking Wimples, the were-rabbit, in the Forbidden Forest.

Nymphadora's Wolf
Tufted Tail

The golden leaves fluttered around the pale-faced woman whose brown hair crowned her face. She sat on a large boulder just at the edge of the Forbidden Forest with her brown robes flowing around her as the wind caught at the cloth. Then the wind settled and the woman looked up. The man realized he had not stumbled upon a wood nymph, but Nymphadora Tonks.

The witch blinked as she watched the man approach from the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He was dressed in a long, brown leather duster that accentuated his lanky body. His hair was long and rather shaggy with the full beard providing a harsh contrast against his otherwise pale features. This man looked like he could be quite dangerous and predatory. She blinked twice more before she realized he was not a hallucination, but the flesh and blood man known as--

"Remus Lupin?"

"Tonks? What are you doing here?"

"I work here. I've been assigned to guard Hogwarts with Dawlish, Savage, and Proudfoot. I generally take the night shift. It's not as if I get much sleep anyway."

"Nymphadora..." sighs

"What are you doing here, Remus? I thought you'd gone underground with the werewolves."

"Now that it's getting colder, we are literally going underground into the abandoned tubes. But I needed a special item that can only be found here in the Forbidden Forest."

"And what would that be?"

"Shh. I see him. Ragged ear, one eye, but looking rather stout."

snerf, snerf

"Remus, that's Wimples!"

"I knew he'd come out for the right bait. Now just a quick--Oof!"

"Put the wand down; that's Wimples you're aiming at! You just keep nibbling on that apple, Wimples!"

snerf, munch, munch, snerf

"Tonks, I'm not going to hurt him, just pluck his tail."

"What! You vicious brute! What's happened to you? How could you hurt that poor, innocent bunny!"

"Are you referring to the furball who's now chasing that blood-sucking bugbear?"

"Run away, Wimples, hoppity hop!"

"Let me go, Tonks, I need to get Wimples!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Umph

Thud "Tonks, get off of me. This ground is hard on my back."

"You're not going to get Wimples."

"You think you can stop me?" roll

"Eek! Remus, shove off!"

"At least it's softer on the leaves--Nymphadora, you better keep completely still."

"I will not--"

"Dammit, quit squirming!"

"Why should I--Oohh."

"I see you've got the point."

"Fine, I won't provoke you as long as you won't go after Wimples. I'll be limp as a ragdoll, see?"

"You're just placating me so I'll let go of your wrists and you can reach for your wand."

"Oh, so the big man thinks he has the upper hand on the little witch?"

"Give up, Tonks, I've got mass on my side."

"And I've got leverage."

"Tonks! Unwrap your legs."

"You let go of my wrists and I'll release the clutch. But then, you don't trust me anymore, do you?"

"You're the one who shouldn't trust me right now. It's not a smart idea to stir up a werewolf like this."

"Can I still make you lose control, Professor Lupin?"

"Nymph--"

- - - - -

"That was not supposed to happen."

"Quit looking so guilty; I'm not a naive virgin, Remus, remember? You were there when--"

"It wasn't my intention to--Damn! The contraceptive charm."

"Stop fretting; it's too late in my cycle, even if we could conceive."

"Look, this incident should prove that I'm not good for you. Mauling you in the forest is not civilized behavior. Here, you've got twigs in your hair."

"Thanks." sighs "And you didn't maul me, Remus. Besides, I'm a big girl now."

"Then you should recognize the difference between lust and love."

"I do, but I also know when one is used to express the other. You're mine, Remus, whether you choose to acknowledge me or not."

"You need to move on with your life, Tonks."

"Is that what you really want? You want to me to give myself to another man like this? To have someone else touching me when you know I belong to you?"

snap "Ow, bloody stick gave me a splinter."

"Here, Remus, let me see that. And yes, I still can heal. Had to fix a broken nose on Harry when he arrived at Hogwarts. Oh yes, found him under his invisibility cloak on the train, nose bleeding."

"Thank you for taking care of Harry, Tonks. I saw him at the Burrow on his birthday, but I still feel bad about not being able to write to him."

"At least you're making an effort to keep in touch with someone. I just wish it were me."

"Nymphadora, I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"It's not because you're still mad about Corvus? I thought you'd lost your faith in me"

"No, I was lashing out at you for all the hurt and loss that I had been feeling. I understand that you were acting to preserve your promise to Emmeline."

"So when did you come to this realization, Remus?"

"Two things happened. First, I ran into your mum a few weeks ago and had a rather angry confrontation."

"I haven't talked to my parents since I was assigned to Hogwarts. Mum was upset about Sirius."

"Yes, she was still upset about that. She raged that I didn't tell her about Sirus being innocent, that I wouldn't talk about his death, and I realized I also couldn't tell her about Corvus because of my promise to you. It made me understand how you must have felt."

"Emmeline took it well, though, the fact that you know about Corvus. She said that she'd like for you to be his godfather, although we might not be able to arrange that until after this war is over."

"She really said that? Corvus would be my godson?"

"Remus, there are many people who care about you and don't give a damn about the fact you're a werewolf. Why can't you see that? Sirius wasn't the only one who accepted you."

"Sirius. That was the second thing that happened. I talked to Sirius."

"What? Sirius is--"

"I know, I know, and it was a dream, but at the time, it felt so real, Tonks. I dreamt I was there, in that room. I walked to the Veil with my wand drawn, just wanting to obliterate the thing. But then I heard a taunting sing-song voice, just like when we were boys at Hogwarts, and it was him."

"What was he singing, Remus?"

"Moonshadow, a Muggle song--."

"Yeah, I know that one. Mum would sing it to me as a lullaby. "

"Sirius would sing it to ease my mind about the moon."

"I miss him, too, Remus. So did anything else happen in the dream?"

"He asked about Harry. I told Sirius I'd seen him on his birthday, promised him I'd see his godson again at Christmas. Sirius then said he loved Harry as if he were his own son and in response, I blurted out that he did have a son, a flesh and blood Black."

"How did this dream Sirius take the news?"

"He wasn't surprised, he just said his name: Corvus. Then his last words faded as he made me promise to protect his son."

"That was some dream, Remus."

"It helped me put things into perspective. You were right when you said that personal feelings weren't the issue; protecting Corvus is the priority."

"So am I forgiven?"

"Are you going to let me catch Wimples?"

"Why do you need a were-rabbit's tail, Professor?"

"The core of a wand needs to come from a magical creature. My young charges--there are eight now--can't learn about becoming wizards if they don't have wands. They were turned out of their families before they were of age to get one or without being able to take one."

"I see, so while you're trying to convince the adults not to follow the dark side, you want to teach the young ones proper magic so they can see an alternative to acting against the wizarding world."

"They have such potential, Tonks! The little girl is a musical virtuoso, one of the boys could rival Harry on a broom, and yet another has an eidetic memory. Even if I fail with the adults, I need to show these youngsters a different path, but they need wands. It won't be ideal, but they'll work."

"So who's making these wands? You wouldn't be out here to snatch Wimples' fluffy tail if you could buy them. Wait! Have you found Ollivander?"

"No, it's not Ollivander, but one of his cousins. The man is a drunk, but still quite skilled at making wands. That's how he got bitten; he was drunk on a full moon and ran into Greyback."

"Yes, I see where you'd think Wimples' tail would be your best chance at the wands. You'd feel too guilty luring a unicorn--not that you could anymore. Dragon heartstrings are out of the question. And Wimples is quite powerful for a vorpal bunny."

"So, will you help me catch him?"

"No, I won't help you nab him, but I won't stop you, either, as long as you promise not to use your wand."

"Fair enough."

"But I get to watch. I have a feeling one of you is going to end up rather bloody."

"I wasn't going to skin him."

"I was referring to you, Professor."

"We'll see about that, Tonks."

- - - - - - -

"The tracks lead here. You do promise not to interfere on Wimples' behalf?"

"Absolutely. Wait. You think he's going to fall for apple bait again?"

"Tonks, the furball has a one-track mind when it comes to apples. Now we just sit and wait."

snerf, snerf...snerf?

"There he is. Let's see if a werewolf can catch a were-rabbit."

"Oh ye of little faith."

"What's that, Professor? Got away did he?"

snerf, snerf

"It's not over yet."

"Oooh, that left a bruise--Watch out for the--I've always said you're too bloody tall, you should have ducked for that branch."

"I can do without the commentary, Nymphadora."

snerf, snerf, snerf!

"Wimples is rather amorphous, isn't he?"

"Slippery bugger more like--augh!"

"Your bad knee! Remus, are you all right? Oh, Wimples, how could you? You know how delicate Remus can be."

whine, whine

"Just look at him, quivering as if he's the one in pain. Ah, that feels better, thanks. I'll just sit here and rest for a moment."

"You really think the wands will help these urchins of yours?"

"Do you think I'd risk coming here otherwise?"

"Right. Fine, ahem, Wimples, come to Nana Tonks."

"I don't believe it. You could have called him at any time and he'd have just hopped onto your lap?"

"Wimples remembers his friends as well as his, er, rivals."

snerf, snerf

"So what now, Tonks?"

"Well, I think if you ask nicely--don't look so skeptical. Wimples is quite civilized. Oh, all right, I'll hold him tight while you pluck, but be quick. He's starting to squirm!"

"Ah, got them!"

"Run away now, Wimples--and I'm sorry!"

snerf, snerf

"At least he got two apples out of the deal. And thank you, Nymphadora, for your help."

"Funny how things turn out best when we work together, Remus." sigh "I suppose you'll be going now."

"I have to, Tonks, and I hope that you'll find that the longer we're apart, then the easier it will be for you to get on with your life. That is my sincere wish, that you not be burdened by a poor, old, and dangerous man."

"So it's goodbye again?"

"Don't waste your tears on me, Nymphadora. Goodbye."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The pale-faced witch watched the moon rising over Hogwarts. As she made her rounds, she sang quietly to herself: And if I ever lose my eyes, if my colors all run dry, yes if I ever lose my eyes, I won't have to cry...

End Chapter

Author Note:

Minor edits.

The song is Moonshadow by Cat Stevens (1971), who has changed his name to Yusuf Islam. I loved the song as a kid and particularly loved the little animation for Teaser and the Firecat.

I think that Remus and Tonks had a few encounters over the horrible year they suffered in Book 6. I also think that as depressed as she appeared to others, Tonks would be more animated around Remus simply because even in sorrow they bring life into each other's existence. It would also explain why Remus has trouble absorbing how much the separation has affected Tonks; he doesn't realize the depth of loss she's feeling is enough to change her Patronus.

To summarize, they see each other in the late fall when Remus is hunting Wimples in the Forbidden Forest in order to acquire were-rabbit hairs to be in the core of wands for the youngsters he's watching. And, yes, they did it, but I think the level of passion I wrote in the Book 5 stories warrants that they would still be especially responsive to each other after 3 months of abstinence. And it's rather sad to consider how quickly Remus falls into confiding his dreams to Tonks, how she feels compelled to help him even thought she knows he'll still reject her. Besides, I really can't write nothing but angst.

Again, thanks for reading. I appreciate the warm welcome the community of readers has offered me. I hope that my view of Lupin and Tonk's story keeps a smile on your face.