Merry boxing day.

I would like to thank one of my most awesome reviewers LoadsofRandomness for her awesome review that made me happy enough to write this entire chapter.

So I asked my sisters what a pork-pie is because that's what Tonks hats meant to be shaped like, and Tahlika says, a brown thing with circles poking out and it falls off a tree. Me: Umm, That's a pinecone : S HAHAHA

I really would love some reviews because right now I am getting hardly any. If you guys don't review I'll stop writing. Its really quite as simple as that. I would like to think that my story is good enough to get reviews without me having to put you under the imperious curse, or having to perform the cruciatus curse on you to force you : P

I know Mouldemort personally so review or face his mould-spray.

A few days later Tonks, Remus and Sirius were all sitting in the kitchen. Remus had his head in his hands, looking more tired and ill than ever. His face was so pale and ashen that it looked grey and Sirius and Tonks were exchanging worried looks. Sirius looked a little worn out, and Tonks was also tired, but it was nothing compared to Remus.

"Perhaps we should all go to bed?" Tonks suggested. It was August thirty first and the kids were all due back at school the next morning. Tonks and Remus were supposed to take them to the train station as part of their guard. Earlier that evening there had been a party for Ron and Hermione who had been made prefects and everyone else was now fast asleep.

This caused Remus to look up abruptly, and there was something that looked like panic in his eyes at the thought of sleeping. Every night his nightmares got worse, and he woke sweating, even though in his dreams he felt cold, as though there were a few hundred dementors around. "No." he said quickly. "Not yet. I think we should talk about…" His voice trailed off, as he had absolutely no idea what he wanted to talk about. He just knew that he didn't want to sleep.

Both Tonks and Sirius's eyes narrowed at this, but Sirius - recognizing that his friend did not want to sleep, for reasons unknown to him - changed the subject and said, "We should tell Tonks about the map. Remember how you told me that Snape got a hold of it while you were teaching?"

Remus snorted in amusement and Sirius grinned. "We were such genius's when we were at school - pure brilliance, I believe. We were the kings of the school and we were famous for our fantastic pranks. However, I swear that both Snape and McGonagall could smell our 'brilliance' from across the school, as one or the other often almost caught us while we were performing some great prank." said Sirius in an arrogant voice.

Remus laughed. "Shut up Padfoot, you idiot. You've got such a big head." he said, and then turning to Tonks he explained, "We made this map of Hogwarts while we were at school. We called it 'The Marauders Map.' and it used to show everyone in the castle and where they were…"

Sirius cut in "It was very helpful to know where all the teachers were when we were sneaking around."

Tonks gasped. "That was you?" Tonks was amazed. When she was at school, she had happened across a map exactly like the map they were describing.

Remus frowned. "Was what us?" he asked, confused. Tonks looked absolutely amazed, and he couldn't fathom why.

Tonks smiled, "In my fourth year, I happened across a map. It was a peculiar map, because at first it was just a piece of old parchment. I kept it of course, and I kept trying to get it to reveal what it really was. I tried everything, and it stayed blank. One day I took it to class and I had run out of parchment, and so I decided to use it. I figured it really was just a piece of parchment. Then writing appeared on the parchment when I tried to write on it, and it told me that if I was up to no good, to say "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." and it told me not to lie, because it would know. I was always one for mischief and so the map revealed itself to me." she grinned at them.

"That map was very useful to me for two years.:. But then one day, Filch confiscated it and tried to get it to reveal itself, and insults about him began to appear on it. He confiscated it saying it was a dangerous zonkos product."

Sirius laughed gleefully. "Yes! My little cousin ended up being aided in her mischief making with help from us Moony!" he said cheerfully.

Remus grinned, but otherwise ignored Sirius. "Harry has the map now." he told Tonks, "When I was teaching, I didn't know where it had gone. Then Snape found Harry with it, and took it, tried to reveal it, and it insulted him like it did to Filch. I confiscated it from Harry of course, but gave it back to him when I resigned."

Tonks laughed. "You are both bloody brilliant." she said. "How'd you make it do that?"

"Sheer, pure brilliance my dear Nymphadora." Sirius said to her, and regretted it almost immediately as his nose started to grow suspiciously long at a steady rate, showing no sign of stopping. He tried not to let his fear show until his nose was approaching the length where it would soon hit the table.

Tonks and Remus were both laughing hard into their hands as they watched Sirius grow more and more panicked. Sirius's nose hit the table and kept growing as he jumped up. "All right! ALL RIGHT! I give up!"

Tonks and Remus laughed even harder as Sirius had to get up on his chair to avoid his nose growing all the way to the ground. Tonks raised her wand. "Say that you'll never call me that again." she said amusedly.

Sirius scowled, trying to keep his dignity, but losing it completely when his nose started growing even faster. "All right, I won't call you by your bloody first name!" he said quickly.

Tonks laughed and with a wave of her wand, his nose was back to normal once again. Scowling, Sirius sat back down. Remus was still laughing at his best friend and Sirius glared at him. "You're no fun." he spat at Tonks.

Remus looked at Tonks, his eyes sparkling in the way she loved so much, and said "I happen to think she's hilarious."

Tonks grinned. "Thankyou." she said, and as she was trying to ignore the way his eyes made her feel so warm and jumpy inside, he was trying ignore the way her smile made him want to close the distance between them, take her in his arms and kiss until neither or them could breathe. Remus then spent the next minute trying not to think about what else he wanted to do to her and was glad when he was distracted by Sirius growling quietly under his breath at them both. Merlin, it was becoming harder and harder to sit next to her and not move closer, to wrap his arms around her waist, or to cup his hand to her cheek, or to take her hand, or to kiss her, or… He was startled again from his thoughts by the fact that the kitchen was almost silent now, apart from Tonks giggling under her breath every time she looked at Sirius.

Tonks switched between fidgeting in her seat to laughing quietly at Sirius under her breath. She was uncomfortable - she was sick of being so close to Remus, and yet not being able to move closer to him, to feel his breath in her hair, or his head on his shoulder, his lips on hers, his arms around her waist, or her arms around his. She shook her head - the thoughts were taking her attention to a place of no return. She sighed and blew some hair out of her eyes in frustration, knowing that it was only Sirius's presence in the kitchen that stopped her from moving closer to Remus. She glared at him.

Sirius raised his eyebrows at Tonks when she glared. She and Remus were both suddenly acting restless, and he would bet his hippogriff that it was because of each other. He rolled his eyes, and summoned a bottle of wine from the kitchen. He poured three glasses, and raised his in a silent toast.

Remus and Tonks both only drank two glasses - they wanted to be sober in the morning when they had to take the kids to the station - but Sirius seemed to be going for the world record and downed the rest of the bottle and half of another one. They talked about various things until two hours later when Sirius passed out, straight onto the table.

Tonks and Remus both laughed - they had seen this coming, the moment Sirius had summoned the first bottle. Tonks stood up and walked around to Sirius who had been sitting across from them at the table. She poked him in the shoulder and he didn't move. "Is he alive?" she laughed, and turned around. When she turned around she found that his face was only inches from hers as he had come to stand behind her.

"Who cares." he whispered hoarsely and putting one hand behind her head, and one around her waist, on her back he leaned in and kissed her. For a moment, she struggled just to stay upright because he was causing her to become so weak at the knees that she thought she might fall, but then she reached up and placed both hands behind his head, tangling her fingers in his hair and pulling his face to hers. His eyes locked straight into hers as their lips met and in his eyes was something she hadn't seen before - it was need, and she was sure the look was reflected in her own eyes. She could smell his familiar scent - of books, parchment and fresh robes - a clean crisp scent that was entirely Remus, and it intoxicated her. He tasted of wine, and she kissed him eagerly.

She hadn't realised that they stepping back towards the table until his grip around her waist tightened and he easily lifted her so that she was sitting on the table, her legs dangling over the edge, without breaking the kiss. She moved one hand from his hair and let it trail down his spine, and he finally broke the kiss, shivering. His lips moved from her mouth, up the edge of her jaw to her ear, and then down onto her neck, and she closed her eyes, weak from his touch. The hand that was still in his hair came down to rest on his neck, and he felt the warmth of her hand as she moved it.

He was going too far and he knew it. She was almost limp in his arms, and he was worried that he'd pushed her too much, so he went to step away. Tonks eyes snapped open as she felt him try to step away, and saw the worry in his eyes before tightening her grip on him and murmuring, "Don't… go… no… stay…" as coherently as she could, which wasn't very.

The worry left his eyes as she moved her hand from his neck, back up into his hair and pulled his head down to hers, and he grinned against her lips. She paused. "Something funny?" she asked, smiling.

"Nothing, whatsoever." he replied, laughing anyway before pulling her to him, kissing her one more time, sighing and stepping away a little. "We really should get him to bed." he said reluctantly, nodding towards Sirius, who gave a loud grunt from where he lay still slumped on the table. If he didn't pull away from her now, he knew he would never be able to.

Tonks looked as reluctant as he felt, as she nodded. They drew their wands and took Sirius upstairs to his room, transfiguring his robes into nightclothes. As Tonks turned to leave, she found Remus grinning widely, a gleam in his eye that she could only associate with trouble and he said to her, "Hold on. It's time for a little revenge."

Tonks laughed quietly and watched as Remus waved his wand, and Sirius's pajamas turned pink, with yellow hippogriffs on them, they also turned into a one-piece, jumpsuit-like muggle version of pajamas. She snorted in amusement, and Remus, who was behind her, reached an arm around to cover her mouth with his hand, as Sirius rolled over.

They crept out of the room, laughing quietly to themselves all the way to the hall way where their two rooms were opposite each other. Remus grinned and kissed her forehead, drawing her into a tight hug and burying his face in her hair, and inhaling for a moment. She smelt wonderful, like she always did, and it was hard for him to step away. As he let her go, he watched as she looked a little dazed and turned and went into room, whispering something about goodnight as she went.

Once he was on the other side of his door he took a deep breath and sighed. The separation between them now felt almost permanent as he thought of facing another night with the dementors in his dreams, without her by his side.

-RL&NT-

When Remus woke up the next morning - even though he was hardly asleep to begin with - no one was awake yet. However it was only a few minutes that he sat in the kitchen with his head in his hands before Tonks came down the stairs. He looked up as he heard footsteps on the stairs, and it jolted him out of reliving the nightmares he had constantly. When he saw Tonks through his tired eyes, he rose immediately from his chair, throwing it back roughly from the table in his haste and strode over to her. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her passionately and desperately, letting the feel of her arms around his waist and her lips on his spread warmth through his entire body and dispel the nightmares from his brain.

When they broke the kiss, Tonks gasping for air, he threw his arms around her waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck, holding her as tightly as he could. "Well, good morning to you too." Tonks whispered, twisting in his arms to place small gentle kisses on his neck. He groaned and pulled away. Despite the smile on his face, she could see the tiredness in his eyes, and she noticed that he looked even more tired than last night, as though he hadn't slept at all.

Tonks grinned at him and a bit of his usual twinkle came back into his eyes. She laughed and stepped forward to close the small distance between them. He opened his arms and when she stepped into them he closed them around her waist, and she did the same. His hands traced small patterns on her back, and she shivered, laying her head on his chest and breathing deeply.

Molly was so quiet coming down the stairs that neither Tonks nor Remus heard her until she stepped into the kitchen and saw them both. They sprang apart immediately, looking ashamed of themselves, but grinning at each other with their eyes. The look of shock on Molly face only lasted a minute, before she grinned widely. "It's about time." she chuckled.

Remus and Tonks looked at each other in shock, and then simultaneously burst out laughing, which was the moment Sirius chose to walk into the kitchen clutching his head. "What's everyone so cheerful 'bout?" he muttered. Tonks and Remus took one look at him and almost fell over laughing. Clearly, Sirius had not realised that he was wearing pink and yellow one piece muggle pajamas.

Molly frowned, and looked at Sirius, evidently struggling with herself - trying not to laugh and trying not to give it away. Then she groaned, "Merlin, don't let Arthur see those." she said. Arthur was obsessed with muggle clothing, no matter how ridiculous. In fact, the more ridiculous, the more he seemed to like it.

Tonks and Remus were in stitches by now, and actually had to sit down when Arthur himself walked in just as Sirius had looked down and realised what he was wearing.

Sirius's furious shout did nothing to ease their laughter as they sat at the table. "MOOOONNYY!"

-RL&NT-

Tonks waited on the corner of the street for the Weasleys and Harry, tapping her foot impatiently and checking her watch again and again. They were late, so late that if they waited any longer they would miss the train.

She sighed in relief as she saw them coming down the street towards her, and wasn't surprised to see Sirius in his animagus form. Remus's pajama attack had left him in an even worse mood, considering he was already angry that he wasn't allowed to go. Somehow though, he'd gotten past Molly and it was clear that she wasn't happy about it. She was shooting him disapproving glares and she looked stressed.

Tonks was pretty sure that Harry and the others wouldn't recognise her, and so when they got close she said "Wotcher Harry." She had tightly curled grey hair, and had morphed into an old lady, wearing a strange purple, pork-pie shaped hat. She winked at him. "Better hurry up, hadn't we Molly."

"Yes, yes I know.' she moaned. "but Mad-Eye wanted to wait for Sturgis: if only Arthur could have got us cars from the Ministry again: but Fudge won't let him borrow so much as an empty ink bottle these days: how Muggles can stand traveling without magic…"

They walked for twenty minutes before reaching the station, and when Tonks saw Remus standing with the others on the platform she grinned. He smiled back at her, and they all came together to put the children on the train and say goodbye.

-RL&NT-

Sirius, Molly, Tonks and Remus were sitting in the kitchen after they had returned from dropping off Harry and the others at the train station. Molly's eyes were twinkling as she looked at Remus and Tonks who were sitting beside each other at a normal distance. "Who else knows?" she asked them both happily.

"Just you and Sirius." Tonks said, smiling at Molly. "You can tell Arthur if you want but we were kind of planning on letting everyone else guess for themselves."

Molly nodded and laughed. "Well, Minerva and Dumbledore are starting to guess." she said.

Remus smiled. "How so?" he asked. He couldn't remember a time when they could have seen them together. Well, apart from at the order meetings, and the day they went looking for the diadem.

Tonks chuckled. "Seriously, what doesn't Dumbledore know?" she joked.

Sirius grinned at Tonks and Remus. He had been feeling better towards them since getting out the house, and he laughed. "Minerva always knew everything too." he said. "Not much gets past her."

Molly smiled at all of them, even Sirius and said to Remus and Tonks. "I'm very happy for both of you." Despite how tired Remus looked, his happiness was obvious - especially when he looked at Tonks.

There was a silence for a moment, "Do you think any of you would be able to help me apparate some things to the burrow?" she asked. They all told her they would, but none of them anticipated that by 'some things' that they would be apparating for half the day. Poor Sirius wasn't allowed to apparate for risk that the ministry would somehow trace him and so he was forced to stay home, which put him in another bad mood that Tonks and Remus knew he'd drink away that night.

As soon as they had finished helping Molly, Sirius started drinking. Remus and Tonks did their best to entertain him, and slowly his mood improved and he was put to bed again, earlier this time because he had - for the second night in a row - passed out on the kitchen table.

This gave Tonks and Remus the first real alone time they'd had since the dementors, and that really didn't count. They spent the time up in the library with Remus on the floor, leaning against the couch and Tonks in his lap reading to him until Tonks was so tired that she almost fell asleep.

-RL&NT-

Remus had spent the whole day with Tonks who had taken the day off work to take Harry and the others to the train station. They had spent the day with Sirius, laughing, joking and relating stories. They'd helped Molly and Arthur move back into the burrow and there had also been an order meeting, and it had been a very good day - a better day than Remus could remember for a long time.

Of course, any day that was spent sitting on the couch in the library with Tonks curled up against his side, shaking with laughter was bound to be a good day. He tried not to think of her asleep in her room across the hall because when he did, he had to hold himself to the bed in an attempt to not go and watch her sleep - or keep her talking just so he could hear her voice.

Now however, he was trying to sleep, and it was proving to be difficult. He eventually drifted to sleep with thoughts of Tonks in his head. The thoughts faded however as he was submersed in the freezing cold.

He was running through the forest, fear overtaking his body. The werewolf behind him was gaining on him. His instincts were screaming at him to run and his five year old legs were trying as hard as they could. His every breath came sharply, sending cloudy puffs into the chilly night air. The air was crisp, and clean and it would have been comforting on any other night. He was trying too hard, he was stumbling… tripping… his feet were catching on every root and he was holding on to trees as he flew through the forest to try to stay upright. He turned and looked back as the werewolf sprang, having caught up easily after chasing the boy through the forest, hanging back a little just to make him run before he went to bite. Greyback sprang teeth bared and it was the last thing Remus saw before the darkness that followed…

-RL&NT-

Tonks sat bolt upright in bed listening hard. She had been dreaming, and then suddenly she could hear Remus, as though he was in pain. There was silence, and then she heard it again. He wasn't screaming - it was a strangled sound halfway between a yell and a whimper.

She didn't hesitate as she jumped up, drew her wand and then ran for the door. On her way she tripped over some of her clothes and a stray pair of shoes and fell cursing herself silently. This was no time to be clumsy, she thought and jumped up again and lit her wand.. She wrenched open the door to Remus's room and found him writhing in tangled sheets, his face occupied with a look that made him look like he was being burned alive.

There was sweat on his forehead, and he was making the same strangled noises which sounded like he was trying yell the word no, but couldn't quite get it out. She shut the door and moved towards the bed. She fell on his floor, over a stray book and crawled the rest of the way to his bed.

She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him hard. "Remus! REMUS!" He wasn't waking up, and it was as though the dream wouldn't release him. The tears started running down her face as she saw him struggling.

"Remus!" she shook him again. "Wake up!"

Remus could hear Tonks voice cutting like a warm knife through his nightmares. The cold was fading, and something was shaking him. It was Tonks. He could hear her saying his name - through the fog he tried to speak. "Tonks…" He could hardly get the words out through the pain in his head.

His eyes flickered open and he blinked several times quickly. Tonks sighed in relief. "Remus." He turned his head towards the sound of his name, and his voice was rough as he said hers.

"Tonks…" After a moment he was ashamed. He was ashamed of how weak he was, how he was holding her down. He shut his eyes and looked away from her as the pain slowly faded from his head.

"Remus…" she said slowly. "What's wrong." He shook his head, with his eyes still shut and didn't answer. He was paler and greyer than she'd ever seen him, and she was so worried that she felt sick to her stomach. "This is why you haven't been sleeping. Nightmares…" she accused him.

He was silent for a moment. "Tonks. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be doing this to you. You shouldn't be held down by me. I'm too poor, too old and too dangerous. You should be with someone younger. You don't need this…"

"Shut up." Tonks said forcefully, and Remus turned to look at her.

'What?" he said, confused. She glared at him, but as his eyes met hers, hers softened.

"I don't care Remus. I need you. I don't care that you are poor. You aren't dangerous or old. You aren't weak Remus. Far from it." she said softly. "Weakness is for people who can't face their fears, who run from what they can't face and you aren't like that Remus. The fact that it affects you this way and you can still laugh, talk, joke, carry on with life and care about people is proof that you strong - and stronger than anyone I know."

Remus was silent. Her words warmed him - made him feel more for her than he had before and he hadn't even felt that that was possible. "But… I run from him…. In my dreams…" he muttered.

Tonks didn't need Remus to tell her who the 'him' was, because she already knew. "Because you fight him Remus. You don't just stand and let him walk over the top of you. Running isn't giving in - you were just fighting against him."

He shook his head. "But I was…. I was… scared." he whispered the last word.

Tonks almost started crying again as she looked at the man in front of her. He was so brave, and so strong and he couldn't see it. "You're human, Remus. You are meant to be scared. Everyone is sometimes. If you had no fear, I'd be severely worried Remus. You overcome that fear everyday. You look past it, use it to make yourself a better person. You help others because of it Remus."

Remus shook his head again, and the silent tears started to roll down her cheeks. "but I'm too old…"

She knew what he was about to say and she shook her head violently, a flame in her tear-filled eyes. She moved her hand to his forehead, brushing his hair out of his eyes, and forced him to look at you. "Why can't you see why I love you?" she said softly, stopping him from finishing his sentence.

His insides jumped when she said that she loved him. He felt a happiness unfolding in him such that he'd never felt before. She loved him - Remus Lupin, werewolf. He couldn't quite believe her. "You love me?" he asked softly. As much as he'd dreamed that she liked him, he never thought someone like her could love someone like him. A smile spread slowly over his face.

Tonks was overjoyed to see the smile she loved so much spread over Remus's face, and to see his eyes sparkle with hope. "More than my own life." she said, her eyes shining with something more than just tears.

Remus propped himself up in his bed so that he could face her, his smile turning into a grin as he took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. He let go more than he ever had with her before and she stopped breathing and struggled to get closer to him, holding his mouth to hers for as long as she could and kissing him hard.

Remus reached down to her, put his arms around her and lifted her onto the bed to lay on top of him. He didn't break the kiss as he did so and she gasped against his mouth as he ran a hand up her spine and moved it to her hair. She tangled her legs with his and broke this kiss, moving her lips down his neck, to his collarbone where she traced the bones with her lips, pausing at the hollow of his throat.

Remus gasped, squirming underneath her as she nearly made him lose control of himself. He groaned as her hands moved down his sides and he laughed. She placed one last kiss on his throat before kissing him all the way back to his mouth where he eagerly kissed her back.

The kiss seemed to last for hours as both lost track of time. Eventually however, Remus pulled away and rolled Tonks off him and settled her into his side. He placed both arms around her, and her head lay against his shoulder as she looked up at him.

He grinned at her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead he said, "By the way, I love you too…"

THIS STORY IS BY NO MEANS FINISHED : D

Its just getting started… Oh well, unless I don't get reviews.

I'm writing the next chapter as soon as I post this, so expect another chapter in just a couple of hours.

So If you are reading this, please just take the time to review. Anyone can do it, it doesn't take long and it really makes my day.

Also, do you think I need to change the rating on this? Things are getting serious now : D