~ Lukewarm Rain ~

- Chapter 10: Am I Insane? Is Society Pleased? -

After fleeing Snape's impending wrath in the lving room, Remus and Nymphadora retreated to the bedroom they had claimed for themselves. It was one that had no portraits hanging in it, so they were able to speak freely with each other without worrying about former members of the Black family carrying gossip all over the house, which would likely reach the other occupants in some garbled form...

"It's a bit strange hearing everyone else call you Tonks still, even though it isn't legally your last name anymore," Remus commented as he settled onto the bed with a book.

His wife flopped down beside him, snatching the book from his grasp and setting it on the nightstand. Well... she tried to set it on the nightstand but missed, and the book tumbled to the carpet below with a muffled thump. Remus sighed and used a wandless levitation charm to float the book back to its rightful resting place.

"Yeah, but it'd be confusing if they started calling me Lupin," Nymphadora answered, turning over to snuggle against him. "And I definitely don't want them to start calling me Nymphadora!" She shuddered at the thought.

Wordlessly, Remus wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to nuzzle her hair. She'd managed to coax a bit of color into the strands today, although her lingering sorrow over her son's death six month earlier was still suppressing her metamorph powers for the most part. Remus wasn't entirely sure whether the thin black streak currently decorating his wife's mane was a good sign or not.

"Speaking of names," Nymphadora piped up when it seemed her husband was determined to remain silent, "I wish..." She trailed off and buried her face against Remus's shoulder.

"What?" he asked gently. When she hesitated to reply, he held her more tightly against him and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. "What do you wish?"

"Nothing," she murmured. "It's stupid."

"What?" he repeated.

"I don't- I just-" She swallowed and started over. "I wish that... I just wish I could still say his name, you know?" Remus knew without asking that she was referring to her son. Nymphadora sniffled and continued, "It's just, not being allowed to say his name anymore makes it seem like everyone thinks he was as horrible as the freaking bloody Dark Lord, and that's not... that's not-" She let out a strangled sob. "-right."

"I don't care what everyone else says," Remus whispered. "I helped you raise that sweet boy for the first six months of his life. I loved Ladon like he was my own son, and that is how he should be remembered, not as the monster he was twisted into by a malevolent god's 'gift'."

~to be continued~

A/N: I don't know whether Tonks canonically kept her maiden name or not, but IIRC everyone kept calling her Tonks after she married Lupin in the books.

I haven't been getting much feedback on this fic, although I know people are reading it... You guys wanted a full chapter of Remus/Tonks fluff, right? And you want the next chapter to be Snape's meeting with Mnemosyne, right? Right?