A/N: I'm trying to avoid any super-big canon scenes, but this one was important, so…I won't usually put in big huge scenes like this. Just important ones. Anyway, on to the story!

chapter seven

rescuing

I slept in the next morning, as the mission wasn't to take place until much later that night. My dreams consisted pleasantly of lying in that anonymous man's arms; I had a nagging suspicion as to who he was, but I couldn't be sure, could I? When I finally awoke, it was to the soft knock on my door. Sleepily, I rolled over and called, my voice hoarse from sleep, "Come in."

The door opened, a tray bearing breakfast being magicked along by none other than Remus Lupin. He smiled at me. "Molly asked me…well, ordered me…to bring you breakfast, seeing as you missed it this morning."

"Oh, shoot," I said, frowning. "I slept that long?"

He gave his classic, small shrug and said, "You were up late."

I nodded, and the tray came to a rest on my knees. "Thanks, Remus," I said softly. "You know, for…for everything."

His eyes met mine, and I knew, immediately, that he understood; he sat down beside me on the bed as I draped the covers over my knees and started eating. "It's nothing," he said, quietly. "I know what it's like to not be accepted for who you are."

I looked curiously at him, and he averted his eyes. After all he'd done for me, I felt it wrong to pry, and so returned quietly to my breakfast. "I don't know, Remus," I said at last. "I mean, sometimes I get to the point when I just think, one person…I just want one person who will completely accept me and love me, no matter what I am or who I become. You know?"

His voice was barely audible when it spoke again. "Yes," he said, and there was a soft note of brokenness laced into his gentle voice, a note of such complete lament that all I wanted was to reach forward and hug him tight. He was facing away from me, and I couldn't see his face. "Yes, I know."

Quietly, I laid aside the breakfast tray and scooted up next to him, draping my arm across his shoulders. Almost instinctively, it seemed, he turned his face away from mine. "Remus," I said softly, "please tell me what's wrong."

He shook his head; I was close enough that his tawny hair, streaked with grey, brushed my face briefly. "Not now, Nymphadora," he said; I'd never heard his voice so weak, and it scared me. "Not now."

As it would happen, at that moment, my dear cousin – I grit my teeth, looking back on it – burst through the door, roaring, "TONKS…" Remus was up in an instant, and I reached for a roll, anything to stuff my mouth with so that I didn't start shouting blooding hell at Sirius. It worked rather well, too, I might add.

When finally I swallowed, I said sweetly, "Yes, dear cousin?"

He'd stopped dead in the doorway, looking from me to Remus and back again with a confounded look on his face. "Ah…Molly wanted me to tell you to try and hurry, that Mad-Eye wants to go through the procedure one last time."

I nodded. "Thanks, Sirius. I'll be down in a minute."

He looked between Remus and I one last time and then backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Remus looked distinctly uncomfortable, now that Sirius had interrupted us both, but I reached up and yanked him back to sit on the bed next to me again. "Roll?" I asked, dangling it temptingly in front of him. He couldn't suppress a smile and took it, biting into the bread gladly. When I glanced back at the breakfast tray, I realized immediately Molly's intention; there was enough food there for three people, let alone one. "Oh, so considerate," I said sarcastically, finding the extra set of silverware. "You didn't eat, did you?"

He shook his head. "I wasn't feeling very hungry."

I sighed and scooted farther over on the bed, placing the tray between us and handing him the extra set of silverware. "If you don't eat, I'll be forced to hex you."

He smiled wanly, but it was a smile. "Alright, alright. I should have known better than to try and fool Molly Weasley…" Without further ado, he tucked into the scrambled eggs with ham and cheese and I grinned. The twenty minutes or so that followed passed pleasantly, once I'd managed to take his mind off of the worry he undoubtedly felt about both Harry and Sirius.

"What's Harry like?" I asked curiously, eyeing a sausage link.

Remus's face was crossed by both a shadow and a smile. "He's very much like his father, but very different, too. When I last taught him, in third year, there was such a raw desperation in him to succeed, to fight, to do anything to live up to his parents, that I could truly see how he was Lily's son. She was always so determined to do whatever was necessary. And he had James's knack for getting into trouble…and his bravery. He forced himself through the lessons to learn how to fend off dementors, even though I know how glad he was to hear his parents for that space of a few seconds, even though it was the night they died. He's very special, very strong, very determined. But…when we go to get him tonight, you must understand, he'll most likely be rather angry. He can't stand the Dursleys."

I snorted. "I wouldn't be able to, either. From what I've heard, they're all right gits, the lot of them."

He smiled. "I'd be hard-pressed to contradict you." He stood. "You should get dressed, Mad-Eye will be incensed that we've taken so long."

I sighed and closed my eyes briefly. "Oh, all right." I got out of bed, smoothing down the white tank top I was wearing and glancing down at my overlarge, red flannel pyjama bottoms. "I wonder how much he would bark at me if I came downstairs like this."

Remus had to laugh. "I'll take the tray down." He picked up the now-empty tray and walked out the door.

I smiled at myself in the mirror and started getting dressed. The mirror wheezed, "Deary, if you'd just make your hair a bit more sensible, you'd be good to go."

"Oh, shut up," I said good-naturedly.

It wasn't long into the mission before I accidentally broke something, but everyone was good-humored about it, so it wasn't a problem. "It was a good thing, anyway," Remus said as he helped me up. "He'll be down any moment now. Let's congregate by the stairs."

Not long after we'd all gathered there, a shadow moved at the top of the stairs, a shadow that was holding steadily to a wand. I felt Remus let off a soft sigh of relief at the sight of the boy. I could barely see him through the light coming in through the door, but something in Remus's face relaxed. Mad-Eye spoke suddenly, startling us all. "Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out."

He didn't lower his wand, as far as I could tell. His voice, though, probed cautiously as he said, "Professor Moody?"

"I don't know so much about 'Professor,'" Mad-Eye said grumpily, and I saw Remus's lips twitch wryly. "Never got around to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."

Harry didn't move. I could understand his indecision; from what Remus had told me, he'd spent nine months in the company of an imposter playing Mad-Eye who'd tried to kill him just before he was revealed for who he really was. I glanced sideways at Remus again. He could convince Harry to come down. I slipped my hand into his and squeezed gently; he looked sideways at me, and nodded, then looked up to the top of the stairs. "It's all right, Harry," he said softly, his hoarse voice echoing up to the boy. "We've come to take you away."

"P-Professor Lupin?" Harry asked, his voice both relieved and disbelieving. "Is that you?"

Finally, I sighed. "Why are we all standing in the dark?" I asked aloud, squeezing Remus's hand one last time before withdrawing it to grip my wand. "Lumos."

Immediately, Harry Potter was illuminated. For a moment, we all just looked up at him, and I finally nodded in satisfaction; this was exactly what I'd expected The Boy Who Lived to look like. "Oooh, he looks just like I though he would," I said, smiling up at the boy and holding my wand aloft. Remus was smiling broadly, too. "Wotcher, Harry!"

"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," Shacklebolt's slow, deep voice said from behind me. "He looks exactly like James."

"Except the eyes," Elphias Doge said from the back. "Lily's eyes."

Mad-Eye was scrutinizing Harry suspiciously. "Are you quite sure it's him, Lupin?" he growled. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him something only the real Potter would know. Unless someone brought any Veritaserum?"

"Harry, what form does your Patronus take?" Remus asked calmly, even though he cast an annoyed sideways glance at Mad-Eye.

"A stag," Harry said nervously, and a bit confusedly.

"That's him, Mad-Eye," Remus said, nodding.

Finally, Harry came down the stairs, and Mad-Eye immediately reprimanded him for sticking his wand in his back pocket. "Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" I asked Mad-Eye in interest, rolling my eyes at Remus.

"Never you mind, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" growled Mad-Eye "Elementary wand safety, nobody bothers about it anymore…and I saw that," he added angrily when I rolled my eyes at the ceiling.

Remus held out his hand and shook Harry's, looking closely at him. "How are you?"

"F-fine…" Harry mumbled, though he looked quite glad to see a familiar face in Remus. "I'm – you're really lucky the Dursleys are out…"

"Lucky, ha!" I laughed. "It was me that lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by Muggle post telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now…Or they think they are." I grinned.

"We are leaving, aren't we?" he asked, hopefully. "Soon?"

"Almost at once," Remus said, nodding. "We're just waiting for the all-clear."

"Where are we going? The Burrow?"

"Not the Burrow, no," Remus said, and we all began to move into the kitchen. "Too risky. We've set up headquarters somewhere undetectable. It's taken a while…This is Alastor Moody, Harry," he added, pointing in Moody's direction.

"Yeah, I know," Harry said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"And this is Nymphadora…"

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus," I said, and shuddered. "It's Tonks."

"…Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," Remus finished, barely suppressing a smile. I tried so hard to scowl at him, because I knew that he would never give up; to him, I would always be Nymphadora.

"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you 'Nymphadora,'" I muttered, trying not to smile.

He continued with the introduction, and then said, at Harry's bemused look at the number of people there, "A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you."

"Yeah, well, the more the better," said Moody darkly. "We're your guard, Potter."

"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," Remus added. "We've got about fifteen minutes."

"Very clean, aren't they, these Muggles?" I asked curiously. "My dad's Muggle-born and he's a right old slob. I suppose it varies, like with wizards?"

"Er – yeah," Harry said, then turned to Remus. "Look – what's going on, I haven't heard anything from anyone, what's Vol –?"

"Shut up!" Moody growled, as various witches and wizards gave their various responses to Harry's question.

"What?"

"We're not discussing anything here, it's too risky," said Moody, glowering at Harry as if he should have known better. "Damn it, it keeps sticking – ever since that scum wore it –" he said of his magical eye, then popped it out of his head.

"Mad-Eye, you do know that's disgusting, don't you?" I said, wrinkling my nose slightly.

He ignored me. "Get me a glass of water, would you, Harry?" Harry fetched the glass, and Mad-Eye grinned humorlessly, saying, "Cheers. I want three-hundred-and-sixty degrees visibility on the return journey."

"How're we getting – wherever we're going?" Harry asked.

"Brooms," Remus said. "Only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey."

"Remus says you're a good flier," Shacklebolt said.

"He's excellent," Remus said, smiling at Harry before glancing at his watch. "Anyway, you'd better go and get packed, Harry, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes."

"I'll come and help you," I said brightly, and followed Harry out. "Funny place," I remarked. "It's a bit too clean, d'you know what I mean? Bit unnatural. Oh, this is better," I added as we stepped into Harry's room, feeling much more at home. As he went to packing, I surveyed myself in the mirror critically. "You know, I don't think purple's really my color," I said, tugging at a lock of my spiky hair. "D'you think it makes me look a bit peaky?"

"Er –" Harry said, looking quite unsure as to what to do with me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, it does," I said, and turned my hair bubble-gum pink.

He gaped at me. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a Metamorphmagus," I said. "It means I can change my appearance at will," I added, seeing his confused look. "I was born one. I got top marks in Concealment and Disguise during Auror training without any study at all, it was great."

"You're an Auror?" He looked rather impressed. I beamed.

"Yeah. Kingsley is as well; he's a bit higher up than I am, though. I only qualified a year ago. Nearly failed on Stealth and Tracking, I'm dead clumsy, did you hear me break that plate when we arrived downstairs?"

"Can you lean how to be a Metamorphmagus?" Harry asked.

"Bet you wouldn't mind hiding that scar sometimes, eh?" I asked, chuckling.

"No, I wouldn't mind," he mumbled, and turned away.

"Well, you'll have to learn the hard way, I'm afraid," I said. "Metamorphmagi are really rare, and they're born, not made. Most wizards need to use a wand or potions to change their appearance…But we've got to get going, Harry, we're supposed to be packing," I added guiltily.

"Oh – yeah," he said, remembering, and snatched up a few more books.

"Don't be stupid, it'll be much quicker if I – pack!" I said, waving my wand in the hope that this was, for once, going to work.

Well, it did, in a way. Books, clothes, telescope, and scales and landed in the trunk, after all, just not very…erm…neatly.

"It's not very neat," I added aloud, glancing down at the mess. "My mum's got this knack of getting stuff to fit itself in neatly – she even gets the socks to fold themselves – but I've never mastered how she does it – it's a kind of flick –"

I gave my wand a hopeless flick, and one of his socks wriggled feebly before flopping back into the trunk, having seemingly exhausted itself with its brief gymnastics display.

"Ah, well," I sighed regretfully, forcefully closing the lid, "at least it's all in. That could do with a bit of cleaning, too – Scourgify –" I pointed my wand commandingly at his owl's cage, but only a few feathers and droppings melted into thin air. "Well, that's a bit better –" I said reproachfully, "I've never quite got the hang of these sort of householdy spells. Right – got everything? Cauldron? Broom?" I couldn't squelch a gasp when my eyes found his broom. "Wow! A Firebolt? And I'm still riding a Comet Two Sixty," I grumped enviously, eyeing the broom. Harry looked very proud. "Ah well…wand still in your jeans? Both buttocks still on?" He grinned bashfully at this. "Okay, let's go. Locomotor Trunk." I snatched up his owl's cage and Harry followed me out the door, carrying his Firebolt.

Remus was sealing a letter addressed to the Dursleys when we walked into the kitchen. "Excellent," he said, looking up at us. "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready. Harry, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry –"

"They won't," Harry interjected, looking amused at the thought that they might be worried.

"That you're safe –"

"That'll just depress them," he dismissed.

" – and you'll see them next summer."

"Do I have to?" Harry looked annoyed at this thought.

Remus smiled, not answering.

"Come here, boy," Mad-Eye said, beckoning Harry forward with his wand. "I need to Disillusion you."

"You need to what?" Harry said nervously; I'd be nervous if I were him, too, I reflected, and not just because he'd been in the presence of Moody's imposter for nine months.

"Disillusionment Charm," Mad-Eye said. "Lupin says you've got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won't stay on while we're flying; this'll disguise you better. Here you go –"

Harry blended immediately into the wall behind him. "Nice on, Mad-Eye," I said appreciatively, staring at the spot where I assumed that Harry was.

"Come on," Mad-Eye said, unlocking the back door. "Clear night," he remarked once we'd all vacated the house. "Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right, you," he barked at Harry; I could sense the boy cringing, "we're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll be covering you from below. I'm going to be behind you. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed –"

"Is that likely?" Harry's voice asked, sounding distinctly worried. Mad-Eye ignored his question.

" – the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Harry, the rear guard are standing by to take over; keep flying eat and they'll join you."

"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye," I said sarcastically, "he'll think we're not taking this seriously."

"I'm just telling the boy the plan," he barked at me, exasperated by my lack of CONSTANT DILIGENCE. "Our job's to deliver him safely to headquarters and if we die in the attempt –"

"No one's going to die," Shacklebolt said soothingly, something of a sigh in his voice.

"Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" Remus said sharply, breaking into the conversation. I followed his pointing hand to look at the sky, where a shower of bright red sparks flared. Everyone mounted their brooms. "Second signal, let's go!" he added, as green sparks exploded above, and we all kicked off from the ground.

Through the nightmare of a ride that followed, somehow we all survived Mad-Eye's constant paranoia and made it to 12 Grimmauld Place, where Harry touched down beside me as I began to unbuckle his trunk from the back of my broom. Finally, we were inside, warm, and dry; arguments followed, but I could barely keep up after that freezing broom journey. When I finally warmed up enough, it was for the largest argument of all between Molly and Sirius, and I sensed Harry's relief when finally, finally he got the answers – well, most of them – that he wanted out of us. It wasn't long after and the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry went to bed; various Order members who'd remained had dispersed, too, and Molly and Arthur said goodnight as well. Which left Sirius, Remus, and I in the kitchen, looking at each other.

"That did not go well," Remus commented, leaning back in his chair slightly.

Sirius glowered at him for a moment, but then stood up and said, "I've had enough, I'm off to bed," and vanished through the swinging kitchen door.

Remus sighed tiredly. "Tea, Nymphadora?"

"Thanks, Remus," I said gratefully as he got up to make the tea. "And I congratulate you on smoothing over the worst with Sirius and Molly. It was about to get a great deal uglier."

His shoulders lifted in a shrug, his back to me. "I've been dealing with Sirius's impulsiveness since we walked through Hogwarts's gates the first time. It gets easier over the years, I can assure you." He came back to the table with the tea and slid into the seat across from me. It struck me how empty the room was at that moment, the dying fire cackling with only the smallest of noises, abandoned butterbeer corks lying aimlessly on the floor and casting long shadows. Remus stirred his tea for a long moment, and then let out a very heavy, weary sigh. "It's not much to ask for, dealing with his…quirks…when he's dealt so long with mine." He looked down and away, his shoulders drooping slightly.

"What quirks?" I said, smiling. "Aside from your refusal to call me Tonks, there's nothing particularly annoying about you…"

He laughed, but it was tired. "It's much more than that." He finally looked up at me, his blue-grey eyes piercing mine. "He was my friend, when I believed that no one could be."

I reached across the table and slipped my hand into his, squeezing it tight. "Why would you believe that?" I asked softly. "You're a good man, Remus."

He sighed again. "Look at me," he said, very quietly. "I have more scars on my face than most people do on their entire bodies, I can't hold a steady job – thus the state of my clothing – and I rarely have enough money even for food. It's not for lack of reason, either, Nymphadora." His eyes glinted very suddenly in the firelight, revealing the sudden sadness and ache of a lamenting heart.

"The reason being?" I asked, looking straight into his eyes. Tell me, I begged.

He was silent for a long moment, and I said quietly, "Trust me, Remus. Let me in. I want to help you, I want to know what's wrong." I searched his eyes, seeing a raw desperation there, a longing to trust me. "We're friends," I said in a low, strained voice. "Aren't we?"

He nodded, and took a breath. "Nymphadora…" He hesitated only a second longer. "I'm a werewolf."

The relief was so powerful that I nearly smiled, but forced myself not to. Instead, I turned over his hand and traced the scars on his palm. "I know," I said softly.

"You…you know?" he said, sounding slightly dumbfounded.

I looked up at him with a twinkle in my eye. "Remus, I'm an Auror. You were out of commission at the full moon…not to mention I went prying and tried to come up to the attic, Sirius threw me out…and, well, I guessed." I smiled at his somewhat bewildered expression. "Does it truly matter, Remus?"

He smiled, somewhat. "Not many people have taken to it so…easily."

I shrugged lightly, still tracing the scars on his palm. "Well, I'm different." I gave him a mock-severe look. "You should know this by now, Remus."

He laughed softly. "I suppose." Then he just looked at me, a deep, piercing look, and finally sighed.

"Ah, the world-weary Lupin sigh," I said sagely. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't…see me, at all, when Sirius threw you out?" he asked quietly.

I paused, biting my lip. "No," I said slowly, resuming the tracing of his hand. "Why?"

"I'm not myself," he said, very quietly, "during the full moon."

I looked up at him. "Well, it'd be hard, wouldn't it?" I asked calmly, gazing straight into his eyes. "I mean, Remus, it isn't your fault what you become."

"A monster," he said, the quiet hatred in his voice scaring me because I knew that he felt the hatred for himself. "That's what I become."

"You're not a monster," I said, firmly. "You are a sweet, kind, intelligent, quiet man who isn't himself at full moon. That's all. The wolf is not you, Remus. He is a totally separate being. You are not him."

He lifted his eyes from the table to look at me. "James used to call it my 'furry little problem'," he said, a ghost of a smile touching his lips.

I laughed. "Sounds like you had some sort of rogue pet or something."

He nodded, then looked down at our intertwined hands. "It's easier, with the Wolfsbane potion," he said, and I wondered if he was rubbing his thumb over my hand subconsciously; it was making my heart pound, and I prayed that he couldn't feel my erratic pulse. "But there are still times when I wasn't able to use it; after all, it's a fairly new invention. The transformations without it are…unbearable." His eyes darkened with clouds.

"Would it be easier with someone there?" I asked him, my voice soft.

His head jerked up; suddenly he was very much awake. "No," he said, his tone forcefully controlled. "Nymphadora, you cannot imagine the danger…"

"The Wolfsbane potion makes you perfectly safe," I said, more firmly. "And besides, Sirius was with you…"

"Sirius," he said, his voice dangerous, "is an Animagus who can turn into a dog at will. I can't harm an animal, only a human. He's big enough, he can keep a werewolf under control."

"Please, Remus," I said, my voice small.

He shook his head. "I don't want to run the risk of you getting hurt."

"I won't get hurt!" I snapped, standing abruptly. "I want to prove to you that you are perfectly safe!"

He stood as well. "Despite the Wolfsbane potion, I am not myself, still, when I transform. There are things that still make me dangerous. I am dangerous, Nymphadora." His voice felt like thunder. I was hurt, and scared. Remus was not like this.

"I'm sorry," I said finally, when I could bear the silence no longer. "You're a good man, Remus. Can't you see that?"

When he didn't answer, I shook my head, my eyes full of tears, and made to brush past him, but his hand caught my arm. "Wait…Nymphadora…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped."

That was my Remus – the gentle, caring voice that I had grown so used to. I couldn't stop myself; I stepped into his arms and rested my forehead against his chest. "It seems so wrong that you have to live with this," I said, listening to his heartbeat. "You're so different from a werewolf. You're gentle, and intelligent, and kind, and you put up with me." I could feel his smile. "The wolf is not you, Remus, as much as you think he might be."

"I could never live with hurting you," he said softly, right next to my ear. I had to fight down a pleasurable shiver. "Despite the fact that the wolf is not me, I would still be responsible for any harm that may come to you in my presence, and I don't want to risk that."

I nodded slowly against his chest and looked up at him, wiping away unshed tears. "It's your choice, of course." I smiled wanly. "Someday, though, maybe. When you trust me, when you can trust yourself, can we just leave the option open?"

He managed a small smile. "Alright. Maybe, someday." He leaned down and kissed my forehead, and I closed my eyes. "You'd better get home," he added, his voice low. "It's late, and much longer and you won't be able to Apparate."

"Right you are, as always." I sighed regretfully and reached for my cloak. "Until tomorrow, Remus." I hugged him goodbye and left, the kitchen door swinging shut on his image behind me, gazing down at the table, already lost in thought.

Kerichi: Hah, this was definitely a better use of my time. Yeah, you're right about the 'it' and 'dream' business, and the "rather incensed" part...that was my own personality showing through. Oops. That's the hardest thing about first person, drat! Lol. Anyway, thanks for your review, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

the singer: I agree, lol. Thanks for your review!

Katie: Here's the update, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

slightly so: Sorry this update was a little longer coming, but I did my best! Thanks for your review.

Elizabeth Theresa: Thanks for your review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

padfootbabeinblack: Thanks for your review.