"Coming Home"—a Remus/Tonks Drama

Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror at her parent's house, Tonks smiled at herself. She didn't know what the bloody hell all those Muggles meant by a "motherly glow." She looked exactly the same as she always had. Okay, maybe her hair was a little pinker, and it was shoulder-length tonight rather than the usual spiky-short. She was a little taller too. Tonks felt like a stone was sitting in her stomach. She may have felt happy, but she wasn't quite sure how her parents or Remus would react. After all, they were in the middle of a full-out war. The Second Great War. Tonks wouldn't be able to fulfill her duties as an Auror for nine months. She'd have to play mommy and Remus would have to play daddy. No way in hell was Remus going ANYWHERE to fight with a baby on the way, at least if she had a say in it.

Tonks' parents, and Remus, were downstairs in the den having tea. Remus thought Tonks was upstairs just going to the bathroom. But Tonks wanted to prepare herself. This was no light piece of news.

She crossed her eyes and her face became a unicorn face. That usually cheered her up. She crossed them again and became Sirius in everything but hair. Tonks frowned. What would Sirius have to say about her having a baby in the midst of a war like this? Would he be happy for his family and longtime friend? Sirius WAS a daredevil. He'd probably have the notion for Tonks to have the baby while still keeping on duty, or maybe the child would receive a special charm or something for being born on a battlefield. Or would he go against it, saying it was a dangerous time to be giving birth. Remember what happened to James and Lily Potter…

Tonks morphed herself again into Mad-Eye Moody's face. What would the man who taught her everything about being an Auror say about this? Tonks did have an easier time imagining what Mad-Eye's two-cents would be. It would take her away from her duties as an Auror for a year until the baby was born. This was a time they needed every fighter they could get. Babies are for peacetime. Tonks wished Mad-Eye was alive to at least hear the news.

Tonks shifted shape one more time. This time to the image of her husband, Remus Lupin. Remus' reaction could go one of two ways. He would either be thrilled beyond a shadow of a doubt. Or…and this was the most likely reason…he'd be devastated. Tonks knew Remus' main concern about having a baby wasn't the times, but that fact that he could potentially be a werewolf by birth. Even an infant werewolf could be dangerous. Not to mention, all the prejudices in the world against werewolves. Who would want to bring a child into a world of bigotry against him?

Tonks pondered this as she came back to her normal look. Her hair, still bright pink, faded only a little bit as she realized that this wouldn't be an easy announcement. But…why shouldn't her parents and Remus be happy for her? Remus was going to be a father! Werewolf or not, there were ways to get around it. Remus had no other option but to be happy! Sirius had told the two of them once that he wished he could have a child of his own, but his only girlfriend, Bastet, had died 14 years ago while confronting Wormtail about his betrayal of the Potter family. If she had survived, Sirius had assured Remus and Tonks that he'd probably have two children by now…and they'd probably be of school age by now as well. Tonks had smiled. Sirius, wild and crazy lunatic he was, certainly had a soft spot for children deep inside him. Just observing his protective nature with his godson Harry Potter, was enough to assure anyone that Sirius was great father material. Perhaps when one died, they just fell into a whole other world, just the same as the previous one? Tonks hoped so. Then, she knew Sirius would have found Bastet, and they would have a nice big family started by now.

This last thought comforted Tonks enough for her hair to brighten up again. She sighed and decided that she needed to spread the news before her confidence crapped out on her. She slowly went down the stairs and smiled with she saw Remus talking with her parents, Andromeda and Ted Tonks. Remus looked up as she came down the stairs and gave a small, weak smile. Tonks beamed back, ignoring the fact that his smile seemed artificial.

"Mum, Dad, Remus?" Tonks took a deep breath and looked at Remus straight in the eyes. Ted and Andromeda Tonks looked up at their daughter.

"What is it, Dora?" asked Ted.

"I'm…I'm going to have a baby," Tonks spat out, a little quicker than she anticipated. Andromeda and Ted looked at each other and gasped in delight. Andromeda stood up and hugged her daughter.

"Oh god! Congratulations, Dora!" she said with an ecstatic and excited tone in her voice.

Ted shook hands with Remus. "Couldn't wait to start a family, could you, Remus?" Ted laughed.

Meanwhile, Tonks looked at Remus, who hadn't said a word. He was giving her a blank stare. No smile, no frown. Nothing. Just an empty stare at the woman who just announced she was carrying his baby.

That couldn't be a good thing.

That night, Tonks felt incredibly awkward as she and Remus prepared for bed. Remus was taking a long time in the shower. Maybe he was waiting for Tonks to fall asleep so he wouldn't have to say anything? Tonks hair went from her bubble-gum pink to a deep, depressing blue, and it grew out several more inches. Tonks, who preferred her hair short, knew that whenever her hair grew out, she was moderately depressed, at least. Tonks brushed it out and sighed to herself. He hadn't said a word to her. Then again, he didn't have the time, Andromeda and Ted were smothering the two of them, then insisted on breaking out the butterbeer (Tonks just drank water) and toasting the pregnancy.

Tonks sat up on the edge of the bed she shared with Remus and waited for him to come back into the room. To pass the time until he did, Tonks took out the small wedding album Fleur Delacoeur had put together for her and Remus as a gift. Tonks and Remus had a very small, quiet wedding with only a few witnesses, because stirring up such a fuss was dangerous for two order members. Mad-Eye Moody had married them, and Mrs. Weasley had made a small but very delicious wedding cake. Tonks' dress wasn't elaborate or puffy. She'd just worn a white sleeveless dress with an a-line skirt that reached a little lower than her knees. Instead of a veil, Tonks wore roses to accent her hair…which was the brightest pink it had ever been. Remus had washed up nicely for the wedding, but, clearly, from the photos, both posed and candid, his eyes were still worn and beyond his years. He looked moderately happy in the photos with Tonks, but he wasn't beaming like she was. Did…did he even love her?

That was when Remus walked in. He was dressed in a green bathrobe, and his long hair was wet and combed back out of his face. Tonks put the album aside and turned around to face her spouse.

"You didn't say much downstairs," Tonks said blankly. "Well?"

"Well what?" was Remus' reply.

"Well WHAT?" Tonks said, offended. Her hair went from blue to fiery red in and instant. "The baby, Remus! You never told me how you feel!"

Remus shook his head and sat down on the other side of the bed, his back to his wife. Tonks gritted her teeth together.

"What were we thinking, Dora?" Remus asked.

"What was that?" asked Tonks, climbing over the bed so she could sit beside Remus.

"What the bloody hell were we thinking, getting married and having a baby here and now? It was a stupid idea," he muttered.,

"A STUPID IDEA?" Tonks raised her voice significantly. "Getting married and having a baby was a STUPID IDEA?"

"It was a huge mistake. Now's not the right time for a baby," Remus said lightly.

Tonks couldn't believe her ears. "Well, SIR," she began. "If you knew it was a bad idea, then why didn't you just keep you wand to yourself?"

"Excuse me? My WHAT?" Remus said, looking at Tonks.

"I didn't exactly conceive this baby myself, Remus! If you didn't want to have a baby, then you shouldn't have gotten you wand out on our wedding night!" Tonks said, folding her arms and knitting her eyebrows together.

"Like it would have done much good," Remus retorted. "You were on me like a hippogriff during mating season!"

"I would have understood if you had told me we needed to wait!" Tonks said. "I can't believe you assumed I'd blow up at you and yell—"

"—like you are now!" Remus interrupted.

"Can you blame me now?" Tonks asked. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Andromeda peaked her head into the room.

"Is everything okay in here?" she asked.

Tonks put a hand up. "Everything's fine, Mum. We're just discussing something," she said.

Andromeda nodded. "Well, be quiet, because your father's asleep."

"Sorry," said Remus. Andromeda smiled and shut the door. Tonks turned to Remus again.

"Whatever you said or thought before, I'm pregnant now. It's too late," said Tonks. "So why can't you be happy? You're gonna be a father and I'm gonna be a mother! Isn't that exciting?"

"No, just the opposite!" Remus said. "Look at the times! Look at where everyone else is right now! Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on the run from the Death Eaters, nearly everyone else is either in hiding or being tracked, You-Know-Who has taken over the Ministry! This isn't what you need right now!" Remus said.

"On the contrary," said Tonks. "I think we BOTH need this now," she said quietly.

"But even before the new Ministry, anti-werewolf laws were coming out every other month! I have suffered so much all my life. Do you think I would want any other being on earth to suffer like I do?"

"Well, who says our baby is even a werewolf?" said Tonks. "Who says he isn't a Metamorphagus like me? Or maybe he's neither? Maybe he's not even a wizard? Maybe he's a Squib! He is no more likely to be a werewolf than he is any of those things…"

"Yes he is. Werewolves DON'T breed! I'm probably the only werewolf in Europe with a pregnant wife! Hell, I might be the only werewolf WITH a wife!" said Remus. "None of us deserve this."

"Don't you ever see the light in things? You are so negative it's irritating! You didn't want to marry me because you're a werewolf, and ever since were did marry, all you've done is mope and mope more about how you should be with the Order more and how we rushed into marriage and we should have given ourselves more time! Don't you even just sit back and let yourself be happy? We got MARRIED! We're starting a FAMILY! Isn't there anything good you can see in that, Remus?" asked Tonks. She stood up and went to the mirror to get a tissue so Remus couldn't see that tears were coming.

"I insisted that you needed someone younger. I insisted that you needed someone different," Remus said. "I warned you I came with baggage!"

"But I still chose you! Doesn't that say anything about how much I love you?"

Remus didn't stir. "I WARNED you that I was like this! That I was too old, too poor, too dangerous…"

Tonks' jaw dropped as she turned around to face Remus again. "So now you're using your being a werewolf as an excuse for your negativity?" she asked with a disapproving tone to her voice.

Remus looked at Tonks. Tonks looked back at Remus. "Get out," Tonks said. "I don't want you here right now."

Remus stood up. "Nymphadora—"

Tonks pulled away from Remus as he tried to embrace her. "Don't you DARE call me that. I SAID…get out. I can't sleep in the same bed with you tonight…" Tonks pointed at the door with the last shred of dignity she had left. She had just poured herself out to her husband, and he still remained cold as ice.

Remus silently went to the door and grabbed his half-unpacked suitcase. Without looking back, he left Tonks all alone.

Maybe he should pay a visit to Grimmauld Place. Harry might be hiding there…maybe he needed help with his journey…

Finding himself again on the street a few days later, Remus stood on a street corner in London a mile down the road from Grimmauld place. He'd found Harry, Ron, and Hermione where he thought they were, and he'd proposed that they allow him to come with them on their trip to destroy the Horcruxes of Voldemort. But after Remus had told them about Tonks' 'condition,' Harry had blown up at Remus, saying how ashamed he was of Remus and how James wouldn't have appreciated Remus abandoning Tonks and his unborn son or daughter. Remus ended up not being able to tolerate Harry's rage and he let himself back outside. Why was it Harry sounded just like Tonks? Was it because he was right?

Tonks was bearing his child. And he was ready to run off with three kids on a dangerous adventure that could potentially kill him. Come to think of it…that DID sound a little inappropriate. It was definitely an irresponsible thing to leave his family behind just for some thrills, and potential leave Tonks a widow and the baby without a father.

This was a lot like that day at the hospital, after Tonks insisted that because Fleur still loved Bill after he was bitten, that Remus shouldn't use his werewolf-ness to avoid Tonks anymore. Everyone had felt that Tonks and Remus would be a nice pair. Eventually, Remus was cornered, and after Dumbledore's funeral, he found himself getting down on one knee and proposing.

Tonks was right. Maybe they both did need to bring a child into the world now. It would certainly help change his negative disposition on life. It would help Tonks stay away from the front lines, where she could easily be killed (Tonks DIDN'T like this…she said she'd rather die fighting for a noble cause than play housewife all day and make pies).

Remus decided that he belonged at home with Tonks as she grew and as the baby grew inside her. She'd need help with a lot of things, and she'd definitely need help when the 'glorious' day came that she gave birth to their son/daughter. Then, there was raising the child. No one could properly raise a baby on their own, and IF the child was a werewolf, Tonks would need more help from Remus than ever.

Wandering around and around, before long, Remus caught sight of the Tonks house. Outside, mother and daughter were casting charms on plants so they wouldn't die during the early fall frosts. Remus knew he was probably imagining it, but Tonks already seemed bigger around the breasts and belly. Her hair was mousy brown and ran almost down to her butt. She wasn't very happy right them, despite the smile on her face as she talked with Andromeda.

"Ahem…" Remus cleared his voice. Well, here it goes…come what may, Remus knew he could never turn back now. Tonks turned her body to look at her husband. Remus had to smile as her hair nearly automatically went from brown to purple to pink.

Remus took a deep breath. "I'm home."