Ok I told you I'd have this chapter up by Wednesday night and since its only 10:12 pm I made it with an hour and 48 minutes to spare! This chapter is pretty angsty but the next one should be happier! Enjoy and please review!

For the next two weeks, Remus and Tonks stayed together despite Remus's inner doubts. The happiness he felt surged through him at the mere thought of her and with each passing day, his fears and reservations diminished more and more. One night after an Order meeting, however, he was approached by Dumbledore as Tonks and he were preparing to leave.

"Remus, a word please," asked the headmaster.

Taking Tonks aside, he said, "Go ahead home, I think I'll spend the night here anyway. You've got to get up early for work tomorrow."

"You're sure?" she asked through a yawn. She was a little disappointed he wouldn't be going home with her but was too tired to argue about it at the moment.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok." She kissed him on the cheek and said tiredly, "Love you."

"You too, goodnight," he replied and turned back to Dumbledore after Tonks stepped out and Apparated home.

"Remus," the headmaster began, "As I'm sure you're well aware, a majority of werewolves have begun siding with Lord Voldemort as of late."

"It's their hatred towards wizards," Remus chimed in. "They feel Voldemort can do more for them in the long run, give them more freedom."

"We suspected as much. However, seeing as how they are close to Voldemort, they undoubtedly have a great deal of knowledge concerning his recent activities. We have also gathered information that they are not just joining sides with him but are actively involved in his plans, as if they were Death Eaters. If we could gain access to that kind of intelligence, it would be of great value to us." He paused a moment, as if to consider his next words before continuing, "Now, this is not an order but…"

"You want me to go undercover with them. Infiltrate their ranks and gather information," Remus supplied.

Dumbledore nodded and replied, "As I said, it is entirely up to you. This is a very dangerous assignment and living among those who openly embrace the part of yourself which you condemn will not be easy."

"I'd be honored to help. I'm the only one who can pull this off and any information we could obtain is worth the risk." Remus knew that by taking this assignment, he would essentially be cut off from Tonks indefinitely. That thought tore his heart in two, but also made him realize that time apart from one another would allow Tonks to move on and find someone who would give her a good life.

"Very well, Remus. I feel that the best time for you to join their group is directly after a full moon. The next one is in less than three days, which I'm afraid, is not enough time to fully bring you up to speed on the plan. After the next full moon, which happens to be a few days before the start of the school term, we'll arrange it so that you are found by the group."

"Just one question, how do you know they'll accept me as one of their own?"

"You'll tell them you've come to see things their way, so to speak. Since it will be after the full moon, you will explain to them that while transformed, you were about to kill a Muggle to satisfy your blood craving, when the Ministry stepped in and stopped you. They tried to capture you and would have taken you to Azkaban had you not managed to escape," Dumbledore explained.

"And werewolves have a hard time to surviving when the Ministry imposes anti-werewolf laws," Remus once again chimed in.

"Exactly. You tell them you're willing to do anything to ensure your own survival and that you now realize Voldemort is your best chance at freedom. As I said, Remus, this is a huge risk and we can't be sure they'll believe this story."

"I understand but I still want to do this."

"As you wish. We'll discuss the full plan tomorrow afternoon if that's alright with you?"

"That's fine," he answered and watched the headmaster as he Disapparated from out on the doorstep.

Remus was left alone that night with only his thoughts for company. Lying on his bed, he struggled over what to do about his relationship with Tonks. He had about a month before he had to leave, but the full moon was less than three days away and if he had to end it anyway, it would be best if she didn't have to experience his transformation. He knew she would be hurt but he would be sparing her a much bigger heart break in future. Also, he would be able to save her from worrying about him while he was on this mission. One in which his death was a very real possibility.

The following evening, Remus Apparated onto the doorstep of Tonk's flat, just as the orange sun began to set over the horizon. He'd just come from the meeting about his mission and after hearing the details, he knew that ending their relationship was the right thing to do, for Tonks's sake.

He knocked gently on the door and waited for her to answer. After the usual questioning, she opened the door and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

"I missed you last night," she said, pulled back and locked her arms around his neck.

"I missed you too. Can we talk?" he asked reluctantly, knowing what he had to do.

"Sure," she answered, took his hand in hers and led him around to the backyard where they took a seat on a wooden swing that was suspended from the branch of a large tree. Still grasping his hand, Tonks asked, "So, what's going on?"

"I've been given an assignment by the Order," he replied. Good, he thought, be blunt, get straight to the point before you change your mind or lose the nerve.

"Ok," she replied, a little confused as to why this was such a big deal. "We get assignments all the time. What's so special about this one?"

"I'm to go undercover with a group of werewolves, led by Fenrir Greyback, who have joined forces with Voldemort. The plan is for me to try and obtain any information I can about his upcoming plans and number of followers."

She'd known their relationship had been going too perfectly to last for very long. "So, when do you leave? How long are you going to be gone?"

"The Order's planned it so that I leave right after the next full moon which is a few days before the start of the next school term. I'm not sure exactly how long I'll be gone," he explained as gently as possible. "It could be as long as a year, I guess."

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, both trying to process the thought of being separated for such a long period of time.

"You really have to do this, don't you?" Tonks asked, though she already knew the answer.

He nodded and replied, "I'm the only one who can." Remus paused for moment, steeling himself for what needed to be said next. "There's something else, Nymphadora…this assignment…it's made me realize that this," he gestured between them, "us…can't continue."

"Does this have to do with the full moon in few days, Remus? Because I find it just a little hard to believe that you've stopped loving me just because you have to go undercover with Greyback and his band of merry werewolves."

Trying to ignore her sarcasm he continued, "We can't be together, Tonks. I'm sorry. I'll be gone for almost a year, maybe longer. I could be killed."

"Remus, I'd wait an eternity if I had to. Also, you're a very skilled wizard, you'll be fine," she said, trying to reassure herself as much as him.

"It's not fair for you to have to wait. I'll be gone either way and it's better if you don't have to worry about an old man like me and can move on."

"But that's my decision to make, isn't it?" she replied and he could hear the desperation beginning to seep into her voice. When he didn't respond, she continued, "I'll tell you what's not fair, Remus: you coming here, telling me you're leaving, for what could be year, and then ending our relationship. So if and when you do come back, you won't be coming back to me."

"I'm sorry, I really am, but you deserve someone younger who can support you, Dora. I can barely take care of myself. Not to mention the fact that I turn into a raging beast once a month." As he said the last bit, disgust laced his voice.

"I don't care about money, Remus. I care about you, God, I love you! And the fact that you're a werewolf shouldn't even be part of this conversation. You should know by now that it doesn't bother me in the slightest. In fact, it makes you more attractive because having to deal with that has made you stronger and more compassionate."

"I know this isn't what you want to hear and I need you to know that I love you more than I ever thought possible. But it has to be this way." It killed him inside to say this. Hurting her this way was more painful than any transformation he'd ever had to endure. He'd take a thousand transformations over having to do this to her.

"Then tell me, Remus," she began, anger beginning to mask her grief. "What the hell were these past three weeks? Was that all just some temporary fling before you ran off or what, because I don't know at this point."

"Nymphadora," God, she loved the way he said her name. "I know you say you love me…and I believe that's true at the moment, but it won't last. You're young and have a long life ahead of you. Sooner or later, you're going to want more than I can give you."

"I can't believe you think this is some sort of teenage crush! These past three weeks have been the best of my life! I never thought I could be this happy." Her voice slowly lowered and she stared into his eyes as if she could make him understand through that gaze. "You're the reason I'm happy, Remus. I don't know why it's so hard for you to accept that. You are everything I will ever want or need. I'd be perfectly content to spend the rest of my life living with you like we have over the past few weeks."

"Please, Dora," he pleaded. "This is how it has to be. Please try and understand that."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears welling up inside them. "I only hope that maybe after time, you'll change your mind. I love you and as I said before, I'll wait forever if I have to, but I will never understand why we can't be together, Remus."

"I'm so sorry. Goodbye, Nymphadora," he said sadly as he fought back the tears that were forming in his own eyes. Knowing there was nothing left to say, he leaned in and brushed his lips over hers one final time before he stood up and Disapparated from her backyard.

"Goodbye, Remus," she whispered into the wind and tears finally fell from her eyes. Swaying back and forth on the swing, the Auror's normally vibrant pink hair morphed into a mousy brown color as the sun continued to sink into the horizon.

Ok so just hit that little button and let me know what ya think!