PLANNING

Hi again everyone! I'm so sorry that it's taken me such a long time to update. I had a few big tests and then some school stuff, so writing became a little difficult. Sorry! Also, I went back and realized that I got a bit melodramatic with the first couple chapters, so I tried to lighten this one up a bit. I hope you like it :)

I awoke the next morning feeling as though my blankets were trying to strangle me. The sheets had wrapped themselves firmly around my torso and legs, binding my arms to my sides and rendering my feet immobile. I sighed to myself and began to twist and contort my body in order to free my limbs. Contrary to my clumsy waking hours, I was usually a very peaceful sleeper, often falling asleep and waking up in the same position. I attributed my new sleeping habit to stress from the previous day's events, resolving that I would soon "grow out of it" or else grow accustomed to early morning battles with quilts.

I clumsily unwound myself from my chrysalis of sheets and noticed a pile of neatly folded clothes draped over the nearby armchair. I smiled slightly to myself. Good old Mum. It was nice to be with her now. Remus and I had stayed with her for several days when we got the news about Dad, and I think that helped her cope a bit. Now I was in her shoes, and I was grateful for the company; I shuddered to think how much more difficult this whole ordeal would be if I didn't have someone with me.

I got changed into the clothes Mum had provided, and I made my way downstairs into the kitchen, the heavy smell of freshly cooked bacon filling my nostrils. I found Mum hunched over the stove as steam rose up in front of her and sizzling sounds resonated from the pan.

"Smells great," I mused as I entered the kitchen. Mum whirled around to face me.

"Oh good you're awake," she enthused, wiping off her hands with a towel and motioning toward the pans with her wand. Spatulas continued flipping the bacon and eggs into the air as Mum wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "Did you sleep alright?"

"It was okay," I responded, hugging her tightly. "It felt good to sleep."

"I'm glad," Mum answered with a smile. "I was beginning to get worried when you slept all through yesterday, but I figured it was best to let you sleep it all off," she continued. "You really looked awful when you came in."

"Wait," I started, ignoring her second comment, "I slept all yesterday and through the night?"

Mum nodded. "You were really tired."

I was completely astonished at my having slept for almost twenty-four hours. I normally slept late, but the last several years of war combined with my Auror training had taught me to be a very light sleeper. Now I felt like I'd slept like a rock—heavily and wholly.

"You should have woken me up," I scolded lightheartedly as I began to make a bottle for Teddy. "I could've helped you take care of things."

Mum waved me off, "It's alright," she dismissed as bacon and eggs piled themselves up on a plate. "I didn't mind."

"Still," I continued, testing the formula temperature on my wrist, "you shouldn't have had to be by yourself yesterday."

Mum brought the plate of food over to the table and filled two glasses with orange juice while I picked Teddy up from his bassinet and began feeding him his breakfast. "Dora, honestly," Mum returned as she began to place strips of bacon onto her plate, "it was fine. I was glad you got your rest. Besides, it gave me time to bond with my grandson," she added with a smile, ruffling Teddy's small tuft of hair.

I smiled back at her and awkwardly grabbed a strip of bacon while trying to balance the tiny baby in my arms. "So do you know when the Ministry will be calling you back?" Mum asked conversationally.

I swallowed hard on my mouthful of bacon and sighed. "Not yet. I still have a couple weeks of maternity leave, but I doubt that they'll really let me keep it," I mused. "With everything that's happened I bet that Aurors are spread pretty thin."

"When will you know?"

"They'll probably send me an owl within the next couple of days," I responded quietly. I hadn't noticed Mum gazing at me with a concerned expression.

"Are you ready to go back?" she asked pointedly.

"I don't know," I said more to myself than to her. In truth, I really had no idea what I was going to do. On the one hand, I had a secure job at the Ministry, and now that job was in demand. I would have a steady income that would allow me to be self-sufficient until I figured out what to do next. On the other hand, I was a single-mum now. Remus was gone, and he wasn't coming back; I'd accepted that, but that meant that now I was left alone to care for a child that was barely one month old. I knew that I wanted to have the means to care for him on my own—he was my child and therefore my responsibility—but was my job as an Auror really the way I wanted to go about it? True, I would make money, but was that worth having to leave at a moment's notice and not knowing if I would come back? I knew that if Teddy at least had me to care for him, I would be able to tell him about his father, and Remus could then be a part of his son's life. I wouldn't be able to stand it if Teddy lost me too. But then again, what would I do about money? All these thoughts began whirling around my head, making me dizzy.

"You know there's something else we need to talk about," Mum told me, dragging me out of my reverie. It took me a moment to realize what she was referring to. "We don't have to talk about it now if you don't want to," she defended as I placed Teddy back in his bassinet. I knew what she was talking about now, and I took a deep breath and turned back to her.

"No, you're right," I responded. "It's probably a good idea to have everything worked out now."

Mum conjured a notebook and quill and began scribbling something on the paper. "Do you have a place in mind?" she asked. "Somewhere you think he would have wanted it to be?"

Immediately, the image of a small, historic church appeared in my mind's eye. We'd been married there. It was a beautiful church, full of stained glass windows and ornate woodwork. Remus had said that his parents had been married there in the 50's, and when they'd died in his seventh year at Hogwarts, he'd insisted that their funerals be held there as well. They were even buried in the cemetery just beyond the back doors. Therefore, it came as no surprise to me when Remus had requested it to be the location for our wedding. I think he wanted his parents to be there in some way. Now, it seemed only fitting that we hold one last ceremony to remember Remus' life in the place where generations of his family had come together through both good and bad times.

"I know a place," I told Mum. "I can see if they have any space for the funeral."

Mum continued scribbling away on the parchment. "There's also the matter of who will speak," she added.

"Well," I began a bit distractedly, "I'm sure Harry will want to say something. He always said Remus was his favorite teacher." I watched Mum scrawl Harry's name in the notebook. "Then maybe McGonagall would say something about him as a student. I think they got along well."

"What about you?" Mum asked, peering over her notebook.

"Me?" I repeated in dsibelief.

"Well, you knew him better than anyone," she reasoned. "And everyone there will want to hear what he was like from the people that knew him best."

I hung my head. I'd been through this process far too many times within the past year. First, I'd attended Dumbledore's funeral last summer. Then, I'd spoken at Mad-Eye's funeral in August, and six months later, I'd made a speech at my dad's funeral. I didn't know if I would be able to handle speaking at my husband's funeral too.

"I don't know," I responded quietly, not making eye contact.

Mum gave me a sympathetic look. "Just think about it, okay." I nodded.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and I rose to answer it. I found Kingsley standing on the doorstep. He looked tired; his normally perfect posture was now slouched, and his robes were askew.

"Kingsley," I enthused, happy to see someone I recognized.

"Tonks," he returned with a nod. "I was hoping I could speak with you for a few moments."

"Of course," I answered, opening the door wider to allow him entry, "come in."

I led him into the sitting room. "Good morning, Andromeda," he said with a wave to Mum. He sat down on the sofa, and I sat in the armchair across from him.

"Oh, hello, Kingsley," Mum responded from the kitchen. Within moments, she was visible in the sitting room. "Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea?"

"Oh no thank you," Kingsley replied. "I really can't stay long."

A worried look appeared on my mother's face. "Is everything alright?"

Kingsley flashed her a reassuring smile. "Everything's fine," he answered, "I was just hoping to get a few moment's to talk to Tonks before I had to go back to the Ministry."

Mum seemed satisfied with his answer, and left with a nod.

Kingsley turned back to me and gave me a knowing look, letting me know instantly that everything was not alright, as he'd told my mother it was.

"What's wrong?" I started.

"Well, first off," he began, "the Auror office is willing to extend your leave if you would like," he informed. "Only if you want it, of course, but you will be paid for personal time off."

I was slightly taken aback by his response. "Oh, well thank you," I stammered. "But why would they—"

"I thought you would like a little extra time with your family," he told me.

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Kingsley."

"No problem," he returned before straightening up again. "There is one other thing," he continued.

"What is it?"

"Keep in mind that we're still working on this, and circumstances may change," he warned. I nodded, now a bit apprehensive as to what I was about to hear. Kingsley took a deep breath before continuing. "We don't know where Remus is."

It felt like my brain had stopped functioning. At first, the words had no meaning to me. How could they not know where Remus was? I'd seen him in the Great Hall with the others. As the meaning of Kingsley's words started to settle in, anger started rising inside me.

"What do you mean 'you don't know where he is'?" I asked angrily. "How could you lose him? He was in the Great Hall! I saw him there! You can't just lose him" I spat. "I know he was there! I was with him when he—" I broke off, unable to finish the sentence as tears of anger mixed with sadness began to form in my eyes. I covered my face with my hands.

Kingsley put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, prompting to look up to him again. "I'm so sorry," he apologized, and I could see that his eyes were shiny as well. "I promise you that we're doing everything we can to find him."

I nodded as tears started to stream down my face and into my lap. Kingsley wrapped me in a tight hug. "We're going to find him," I heard his deep voice echo in his chest. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I hoped with everything I had that he was right.

I know that things kind of took a turn at the end there, and I'm sorry for that. I promise that happy times are coming!

I hope that you liked this chapter. I'm so sorry again for the really long wait! Don't forget to Review, please! They make my day happier :)