Disclaimer: I have a confession to make ... -drumroll- ... I am NOT ... JK Rowling:O I know, I know, you're all clutching your hearts and struggling to breathe with the revelation, right?? Yeah, well, sorry if I misled anyone ... anyway ...

A/N: Someone pointed out in a review that the timeline in this fic was off and hadn't really been addressed in here. Very true. I thought it was kind of self-explanatory that I'd changed the timeline for plot purposes, for a bit of fun, but I apologise for not acknowledging it in my Author's Notes before now ... yeah, I changed the timeline for plot purposes, for a bit of fun :P
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my last chapter, and I apologise about delays between updates, but I'm working as fast as I can what with everything else I have going on ... anyway, enjoy, and I'll try and be faster next time :)

"Everybody settle down!"

"What's he going o be like as a teacher, then?" Charlie muttered, sliding into his seat beside Tonks, laying his books on his desk. Everyone was watching Professor Lupin a tad apprehensively, as nobody knew much about him.

"No idea," Tonks said honestly. Remus caught her eye and grinned, and she shot him a reassuring smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Andrea scowl, but brushed it off. "He's not going to be the same as a teacher as he is as a friend. Besides, I haven't seen him properly in a while, up until last night. I guess we wait and see."

"All right!" The class snapped to attention as Remus leant on the edge of his desk, watching them all. He then smiled. "Here's the situation. You're all wondering what someone who's not that long out of here is doing back to teach you. You've got doubts. You're curious. It's human. So I'm giving you up to the end of this class, if you need all that time, to ask questions. As of tomorrow, normal lessons begin. Go."

"What?" Charlie looked as bemused as Tonks felt, and everyone broke out in whispers. She caught her teacher's eye, and he tipped her an almost imperceptible wink. She shrugged and raised her hand, figuring, why not?

"Yes, Ms Tonks?"

"Sir, why did Professor Dumbledore choose to send us such a young and, no offence, probably inexperienced Professor to teach us in our NEWT year?"

"Tonks!" a few people hissed, looking mortified, but Remus chuckled merrily.

"An excellent question, Ms Tonks," he said, inclining his head. "Why indeed? Certainly I did not apply for the post. I believe Professor Dumbledore was in need of a Professor, and he opted to choose somebody he had fought alongside in the War, so that he knew he could trust them. As for why me? I have no specific answer. Perhaps it's because he thought I could relate to you, and because – forgive my immodesty – I have some skill in this area, having fought in and survived a great War when little older than you yourselves are now. However, whether his decision was for the best, remains to be seen. That will be up to you to judge after a few lessons. Anybody else?"

"Sir?" Another tentative hand was in the air. "Is it true your best friend was Sirius Black?" All eyes in the room turned to Remus quickly, and Tonks saw a muscle jumping ever so slightly in his jaw.

"Yes," he said finally, "it is indeed. But what I wish to make clear right now is that the man was not who I thought he was. We would have never suspected … well, after what he's done, Azkaban is too good for him. I may have been his friend once, before he showed his true colours, but I would never condone or forgive the things he has done. Next?"

And so it went on. Right before the end of class, Andrea stuck her hand in the air.

"Professor Lupin? Would you say you deserved to survive the War?"

"Drea!" Tonks gasped, scandalised, as did a few other people. Remus, however, held up a hand to silence them, surveying Andrea intently.

"Interesting – why do you ask, Ms Perkins?"

"Well, it seems to me that from all you've told us, you're skilled, yes – but so were many other wizards, who were killed. Charlie's two uncles died – they were brilliant. I was curious as to whether you thought you had something they didn't, sir."

"Not in the slightest, Ms Perkins. More than anything, I believe it was a lot of luck that led me to survive this War. Everyone who fought in this War was or is a brave person, in my own opinion, and I find it categorically unfair that so many innocent lives had to be lost for the greater good. Be that as it may, we all knew when we signed up to fight that it would come to this – life or death, and nothing to save you but your own skill, and the skill of those around you. None of us could be certain of survival; those of us who have, only regret that we were not the ones lost, when others whom we loved have left us …" Tonks knew he was thinking of James and Lily, and her heart ached for him.

"So no, Ms Perkins, I don't think I have anything my friends and comrades lacked. I believe it was simply the luck of the draw, and I wish every day that I myself could have died and others lived instead. Your uncles, Mr Weasley, were wonderful men – I knew Fabian better, but from what I know of Gideon, he was equally honourable. And three of my best friends – indeed, my three absolute greatest friends – were killed in the War. I don't know how or why I was permitted to live and they were not. Certainly I am grateful, but a large part of me is also resentful. Make no mistake: nobody who has lived through this is proud to have done so, but merely sorry that it came to this."

"Oh …" For the first time in a long time, Tonks saw Andrea humbled. It surprised her, but not as much as it would have in other circumstances – that had been an incredibly emotive speech. She even saw tears in the eyes of a couple of Ravenclaws along the row from her. Charlie let out a long, low breath, and Remus nodded towards them all.

"If that is all you wish to know, you may consider yourselves dismissed, and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow for your first proper lesson."

"I'm going to hang back," Tonks murmured to Charlie, who rolled his eyes. "No, Chaz, come on! You heard what he said there; he's lost everybody! His … his parents died a couple of years back, as well, all right? He has nobody, and he's my friend: I won't just abandon him."

"You have to be careful, Tonks," was all he said calmly. She glowered.

"Professor?" Tonks, Charlie and Eric all turned around in shock, only to find that their ears were not, in fact, deceiving them. Andrea was hovering near the front of the classroom, looking – could she be nervous? Tonks blinked rapidly as Remus raised his eyes from a paper on his desk to meet her friend's gaze, and smiled mildly.

"Yes, Ms Perkins – something else you wanted to know?"

"No, sir – I wanted to apologise …" Who the hell was this? Tonks glanced at the guys, but both were staring, dumbfounded, at their other best friend. "I didn't mean to ask something so personal. It was out of line."

"Not in the slightest," Remus assured her, and Tonks marvelled at his ability to forgive. "I was the one who invited you to ask anything, and I assure you, no harm was done."

"All right, then … see you tomorrow, sir."

"Remus." Tonks stepped forward, making a slight gesture with her head to indicate she'd like a word. He smiled appreciatively. "Guys, I'll catch you up."

"Tonks …"

"Later, Drea." A moment later the door snapped shut, and she rolled her eyes. "I'm really sorry about her, you know …"

"No need for apologies, Dora," Remus said with a grin. "She didn't do anything I considered to be inappropriate; and anything she had done most certainly wouldn't be down to you. Anyway, I doubt you planned to wait just to talk about Ms Perkins."

"Well, I was planning on talking to my friend, but if he's going to act like a professorial git on me, then …"

"You love it." He came around his desk, not even lifting his eyes from the piece of parchment he was studying. She snorted disdainfully.

"You're deluded."

"And you're keeping your friends waiting."

"Not all of them." At that, he looked up, and a grin flitted across his face. She smirked and then stuck her tongue out teasingly. "How about a pillow fight for old times' sake?"

"Ha, ha," Remus said dryly. "Come on up," he laughed when she turned on her puppy-dog eyes, gesturing for her to lead the way up the spiral stairs to his chambers, located directly through the office above his classroom. Always the gentleman, of course, letting her go first. Tonks smiled gratefully and crossed his office confidently, stopping for a second outside the door at the opposite end of the room.

"Uh, sorry, maybe you should …"

"Oh, of course, allow me." But rather than pass her, he opened the door and held it there to allow her through. Tonks grinned – this was why she loved having Remus as a friend. Aside from the non-exhaustive list of things they had in common, he was her only male friend who treated her like a woman, and not just as 'one of the guys.' She liked it.

"Thanks," she said, winking and passing him. She heard him pull the door closed behind him, and now that they were definitely alone, she felt much more at ease. She wasted no time in kicking off her shoes and throwing herself onto his couch, curling her feet under her and sighing happily. "Oooh! Comfy."

"Please, make yourself at home!"

"Ta ever so," she taunted him, picking up a nearby cushion and flinging it at him. "Now, are you going to sit down and relax, or do I have to use the coffee table as my next projectile? I should warn you, my aim doesn't suffer with extra weight."

"Mass."

"Excuse me?"

"Mass," Remus repeated, shoving her feet along a bit and sitting down beside her, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "The mass of an object is its size; weight is the force of gravity acting upon a given mass." Tonks blinked at him for a moment.

"And how in the hell would you know?!" she demanded. He chuckled loudly.

"Elementary physics, Dora," he said, tapping the side of his nose lightly. She giggled gleefully, grabbing a cushion from behind him and propping it behind her own head.

"Know-it-all," she said teasingly. "And brilliant." He glanced sideways at her, and she knew he had clocked the change in her tone. "Seriously, Remus, today was great – I think everyone was suitably impressed with your handling of the situation. And you had some good answers too – I reckon you'll be a hit."

"Yes, well, only time will tell," he said offhandedly, but she caught the anxiety in his voice, and sat up a little straighter.

"Remus, if you're worried, you know you can talk to me."

"Let me guess: if I feel the need to run through all of my NEWT lesson plans for the year for practice, just let you know, right?" he teased, and she snorted.

"Only if you want to totally befuddle me!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Never," he replied, eyes twinkling in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Dumbledore. "But I do thank you, Dora – I'll bear it in mind. Now, what do you say to dinner and drinks in Hogsmeade?" She raised her eyebrows, and he cocked his head mischievously.

"Why Professor Lupin, you wouldn't be suggesting that one of your seventh-year students went into the village during unauthorised hours, would you?"

"I checked with Dumbledore when I signed on: students over fifteen are allowed to visit the village at any time as long as accompanied by a teacher. Of course, if you'd rather go to the Great Hall then I understand –"

"No!" Tonks said, perhaps a little too quickly; she blushed. "I mean, that's so overdone. I really want to spend some time with you, Remus. And dinner in Hogsmeade would be a wonderful change, if you're sure you won't be judged to be seen in public with one of your students."

"We're friends."

"What about one of your students who has god awful pink hair and can't walk ten feet without tripping over something?"

"When you put it that way, I think perhaps I could go for some of Hogwarts' best …"

"Git!" She smacked his arm, chortling, and he grinned as he got to his feet.

"Well come on, then! I may be willing to risk a little scandal on your behalf, Dora, but you have another think coming if you honestly expect me to do so with you still wearing your school uniform!"

"Oh!" Tonks chortled aloud as she also clambered from the couch, straightening her school skirt. "I don't know – it could certainly be interesting … the new, young, dashing Defence Professor has a fetish for young students in uniform. I wonder what Rita Skeeter would have to say about that particular gossip?"

"Rita Skeeter wouldn't be saying a word, because the Professor's current student of choice would have been sent on a silencing mission long before she got the chance," Remus joked right back, and Tonks giggled appreciatively.

"Only with your permission, sir."

A/N: Okay, that was a random ending. But I thought a little light humour couldn't go amiss ... anyway, sorry for the dreadful filler chapter, but I promise action in the next chapter, and some more flashbacks soon after!!
Thanks again for reading, and some reviews would be greatly appreciated :)

Alison xoxo