A/N: Again, a pairing I've never written before. I'll get back to the other suggestions I was given when I've got these comp/challenge pieces written. Promise!

I hope you enjoy this one :)

Word count (without AN or epigraph): 1,614

Written for: One Direction comp [Moments]; Quotes for all Occasions comp [Death: "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."-Albert Pike"]; Hunger Games comp [Jabberjay: Someone presuming a loved one is in danger and rushing to save them]; Disney character comp [Abu: Tonks]; Birthday comp [March - Latin - Write about one of the wars]; Major Arcana challenge [Tower upright: someone experiencing the death of a loved one]; Pairing Diversity Bootcamp [forever]; Prompt mania challenge [talkative].

Kaleidoscope

Remus/Tonks (Romance)

...

Trembling hands touch skin

It makes this harder

And the tears stream down my face

My love, my heart is breathing for this moment in time

I'll find the words to say before you leave me today.

- Moments, One Direction

...

Tonks fell to the ground, surrounded by a pile of rubble and dust as the giants smashed a hole in the side of the castle. Multi-coloured jets of light flew above her as she lay in a dis-orientated state. Screams rang out from all angles. In her dazed state certain elements of her surroundings brought a memory to the front of her thoughts.

"This is fantastic!" Remus yelled over the delighted screams of the crowd as fireworks showered the black sky with colour and life.

"I said you'd enjoy it didn't I?" Tonks laughed beside him, her bubblegum-pink hair reflecting the colours in the sky like a kaleidoscope. "You're just a stuffy old man too set in his ways to have a little fun."

Remus laughed. "Hey, I was quite a trouble-maker in my day."

"You were still the sensible one of the group, though," Tonks arched a brow, laughing along with him.

They continued to watch the display in silence.

"Thank you," Remus said as it ended, his green eyes still dancing with flecks of the golden fountain of sparks from the last fireworks. Both he and Tonks knew the hidden meaning behind the words. He understood that she only brought him here to show him that night could be a beautiful thing instead of the embodiment of misery and suffering he thought it to be, thereby showing him that she accepted him for who and what he was.

"C'mon, let's go warm up with some Firewhiskey," she gave him a little wink, signalling that she had decoded the hidden message.

"Oh no, you're talkative enough as it is without alcohol in your system."

"Fine. Butterbeer then." Tonks had already linked arms with Remus and was dragging him to the nearest pub before he could even begin to argue.

Tonks immediately snapped out of her daze when the chaos of the battlefield inadvertently took her back to that moment; the moment she first realised she was in love with Remus. The juxtaposition of the two scenarios was chilling to say the least, but perhaps it had been just the incentive she needed to get off her arse and get back to her mission of actually finding him.

Her body led her around the wreckage of the castle as if completely detached from her mind. She was running, but it didn't feel like it was her feet carrying her. All Tonks could do was think about Remus, hoping he was alive, and about her mother and son, who she practically abandoned to come here. Tonks had somehow ignored the first call that told her it was time to fight. The hour that separated this from the next was like Paranoia City. Her mind became filled with mental images of Remus, other members of the Order or Dumbledore's Army dead or dying. It haunted her, and she knew she'd feel much better helping them by being there herself.

"Take care of Teddy for me," she said to her mum. As she kissed the soft tawny hair on her son's head, Tonks' heart almost convinced her head to stay with him, but she couldn't do it. She felt like a coward or that she was letting the side down by not showing her face at the battle. So here she was now.

She'd covered a fair bit of ground with minimal challenges from Death Eaters, but her luck didn't quite hold out as much as she would have liked. Her dear Aunt Bellatrix cornered her as she neared the Entrance Hall.

"Wotcher, Trixie," Tonks knew adding fuel to her aunt's unhinged fire wasn't going to help, but if she was planning on murdering her anyway, then she may as well have a little fun.

Bellatrix wasted no time in verbal exchanges, only responding with a series of Killing Curses in Tonks' direction. After successfully dodging them, Tonks and Bellatrix engaged in a duel. Tonks internally groaned. Trust her aunt to do this when she had more important things on her mind. Namely, saving her husband.

"Stupefy!"

Tonks turned just in time to see the red light shooting towards her. She ducked, consequently putting Bellatrix in its line of fire. It hit her squarely in the chest, and she keeled over amongst the rubble.

Well, that was easy, Tonks thought. She needn't continue her frantic search for Remus, for he was already in her line of sight. He hadn't yet noticed her as he was duelling Antonin Dolohov, but Tonks guessed that it had been his Stunning spell that struck Bellatrix. One hand – bright red with blood – was clutching a gaping wound in his stomach in a futile attempt to stop the blood flow. But he was alive. And that's all that mattered.

Tonks barely had time to feel relief, or even raise her wand to attack Dolohov from behind when the dark-haired Death Eater yelled an incantation that she didn't recognise; time suddenly slowed down. Her scream seemed to go on forever as she watched the wound on Remus' abdomen grew larger still. He lifted his head, his eyes travelling from his injury to her eyes as if in slow motion. Then, just as laboriously, he fell to the ground, never once taking his eyes off her. A dull thud signalled the hard impact, and only then did time seem to return to normal pace again. Tonks surged forwards like a horse out of the starting gate of a race, not caring about the danger that surrounded her in that open area.

"Remus," she rolled him onto his back and gently pushed the hair out of his eyes.

"What are you… doing here?" It was clearly taking a lot of energy and effort for him to speak. Tonks knew in her heart of hearts that with the blood loss, he wouldn't have much time left, but while he was still with her she pushed the thought out of her mind.

"Did you really expect me to do what I was told?" she laughed, but there was no humour to the sound. "You know what my family is like for following rules. Just look at my mum for starters."

She didn't even realise she'd been crying until he wiped a tear from her face with a shaking finger, probably smearing her cheek with blood in the process.

"Aw, how sweet," Dolohov loomed over them with a sadistic grin on his face. As soon as Tonks saw him raise his wand, she instinctively moved to shield Remus' body.

"NO!" she yelled, scrunching her eyes shut as the spell hit. The pain was excruciating. It was as if all of the blood drained from her face and worked its way down to escape her body through the fresh wound. Dolohov then fled the scene - presumably to revive Bellatrix -, leaving them to endure slow and painful deaths. Her apparent rescue mission had suddenly turned into a complete disaster.

"Why did you…?" Remus was having trouble keeping his eyes open now.

"Why do you think, you idiot?" Tonks managed a strained smile through the pained grimace. "I love you."

"But… Teddy…"

"I'm doing more good for him by being here," Tonks said, cradling Remus' head. Her tears were falling onto his face and mixing with his own but neither of them cared. "What we've done for him, and the rest of the wizarding world, will be immortal. He'll understand when he's older." It was only now that it fully registered in Tonks' head that she was never going to see her little boy again. Suddenly, the weeping gash in her back wasn't so painful in comparison to that thought. She and Remus were going to die. Together.

It was so hard to think what to say next. Last words were always made out to be such a big deal, and Tonks honestly couldn't find the words to say before Remus left her for good. She could feel her strength dwindling, but she needed to live for this moment, to deliver her last words to the husband she wished she could spend more time with…

With that thought, inspiration struck. She could see Remus fighting to keep his eyes open for her, possibly for the same reason. "You don't have to worry about leaving me, you know," she whispered. "I may be some years younger than you but I'm a big girl. I won't be alone for that long. I'll join you, and James and Sirius soon. Merlin help me, eh?" she smiled through her blurry vision as more tears escaped. Then she added. "You would have been an amazing dad to Teddy; someone he could be proud of."

Remus smiled up at her. His vision was blurred too, but for a different reason. There was Tonks' face, lights of all different colours reflecting off her hair. Like a kaleidoscope. Her comment reiterated how she accepted and loved him, which gave him all the more reassurance that Teddy would too.

Slowly, he cupped her cheek with a trembling hand. "Just as beautiful as you were… that night…"

The ghost of a smile still playing at his lips, Remus' eyes fluttered closed.

He was gone.

Although Tonks had been expecting it, she couldn't stop the despair from bursting from her in a howling scream. She collapsed against him and sobbed; just waiting for the moment her spirit could be with him again. Without him, she felt like half of herself. Incomplete. Alone.

She was already losing consciousness when the moment arrived. Tonks couldn't even be sure if it had just been a natural transition or if someone used a Killing Curse. In a way she felt selfish that so many survivors will have the agonizing process of mourning their loved ones to dread, whilst she only experienced it for just a few minutes, only to have the privilege of being with her deceased loved one again. Forever.

A/N: As always, thank you for reading :)