**Dropping this warning here so it might get seen- the first section *could* be considered graphic to people, it's all personal preference**
So, a *slightly* more upbeat AU.
Slightly.
...
I have certain goals I want for each chapter.
And that means LONGER chapters yo(sometimes anyway)
I don't know how many people are reading this still but I'd love some reviews, they fuel me.
Remus will be returning in the next few chapters so if you're missing Remus, he's gonna be there.
"Nymphadora."
She felt his hand close around her upper arm as they turned to leave the Burrow. She turned to face him, and he stayed silent until the kitchen was empty, Molly and Ginny following the others outside.
"Stay alive." He said gruffly.
"You too." She said.
He gave a rough shrug, walking passed her and out of the kitchen door. "Let's go." He called over his shoulder. She went to follow him into the dark yard, but as soon as she stepped through the door, it was daytime and she was standing in Kingsley's garden.
Someone brushed by her, and she saw Kingsley striding towards the edge of his yard, towards a shape on the ground. She walked forward involuntarily, knowing what she was about to see.
But it wasn't her father, this wasn't right, this wasn't how it happened.
Kingsley reached down, turning the body over, and she recoiled. The mangled corpse seemed to jerk under Kingsley's touch as he turned it- Alastor's face still recognisable despite chunks of flesh that had rotted away- the familiar magical eye simply rolling from the socket, across the grass- stopping by her foot.
And she screamed.
"Nymphadora!" A strict voice called harshly and she felt hands on her shoulders. Her eyes flew open and she threw herself into a sitting position, immediately regretting it when the room seemed to be spinning. Her mother was kneeling on the bed next to her, staring at her with wide eyes. "You screamed, I- are you alright?"
She nodded slowly. "I- uh-" She took a few deep breaths. "I'm alright."
"You're pale, sweetheart."
"I don't exactly feel well, Mum." She said. "I haven't felt well for a few weeks now."
Andromeda brushed a hand over Tonks' hair gently. "Do you want to talk about what you just-"
"No." She said, pushing back the covers. "I'm going to take a bath, relax a bit."
Andromeda nodded, but looked disappointed. She stood from the bed, and left the room as Tonks gathered fresh clothes and a towel. She sat on the edge of the tub as the water filled, watching the bubbles foam up. It was always her mother's thoughts that a bubble bath solved everything, but Tonks believed that was pure bullshit.
It helped her relax, that much was true, but it wouldn't solve everything- it would solve nothing. The world's problems could not be solved by sitting in a soapy tub of warm water. She may lay in a warm tub right now, but once she got out- her father and Alastor were still dead, Remus was still missing and she was still pregnant.
She wasn't sure how long she sat for, but at some point, she began to doze off slightly, but was jerked wide awake the second she heard pounding on the bathroom door. She jumped, yelping in surprise, and heard her mother's muffled apologies.
She stood, wrapping the towel around her, unlocking the door quickly. "Mum, what?" She asked.
Andromeda held out a piece of parchment, which Tonks took and read quickly. A grin spread across her face as she read Dawlish's writing- all she really needed to read was that they had found Remus, and that she had to Floo directly into his office.
"They found Remus- Mum, they found Remus!" She cried, throwing the door open fully to throw her arms around her mother. "Okay, I have to go-" She said quickly, heading for her bedroom. She dressed quickly, pausing in the hallway to step into the spare room where Teddy had been sleeping for the last month.
She leaned over the crib, brushing a finger over his cheek, and as expected, his hair turned bright pink and his eyes slowly opened. "Hi, love." She said quietly as he reached up for her. She scooped him up, running a hand over his hair. "Mama has to go for a few minutes, will you sleep and let your poor Gran catch a break?"
Teddy giggled, grabbing a handful of her hair, turning his hair the same shade of brown.
"If you're anything like me, I'll take that as a no." She said with a smile. "Merlin help us all, right?"
She gently set Teddy back down, and he reached one chubby fist to grab the stuffed wolf that he refused to sleep without- a gift from Harry- and she tucked his blanket around him, and gave him a quick kiss to the forehead.
It was a few days after the battle, and they were simply trying to continue on despite what had happened. Fred and George were able to cope immediately- there were tears at first, but within hours, they were planning to reopen the shop- and Colin's entire family had been brought to Hogwarts to be reunited with him. Dennis had been confused, because he had known Colin had died, but the family's relief outweighed the confusion of what had occurred.
Remus and Tonks simply locked themselves away for a few days with Teddy after Andromeda moved back to her own house. Remus was talking about selling his father's house- simply so they had more room to raise Teddy- but there were no plans just yet. They were simply spending time alone- really for the first time- with Teddy. Before the war ended, Andromeda still lived with them, and had since shortly before Teddy's birth.
There were letters from Order members, checking in on them, but they only responded to one- from Harry, who apologised profusely for the fact they had died but said he was extremely glad that had somehow not been the case at all.
Remus responded only to say (again) that it was not Harry's fault, they had chosen to go to the battle- and to invite Harry over so they could all finally spend time together without the war hanging over their heads.
Harry arrived looking terrible, as if he had not slept in days- perhaps he hadn't. He was pale, dark circles beneath his eyes. He grinned when he held Teddy for the first time, Teddy's hair turning jet black as soon as Harry took him.
When Teddy began to fuss nearly twenty minutes later- during which Harry simply sat peacefully with him, completely at ease- Tonks took him back, disappearing into the kitchen to feed him.
"I actually have something for him.'' Harry said when she returned and sat next to Remus again. "It was Hermione's idea, it's sort of- I guess it's got charms to help him sleep, I guess some babies get fussy when sleeping separate from their parents-"
"If anything, Remus is the fussy one if Teddy's not with us, actually.'' Tonks said lightly, and Remus chuckled quietly.
Harry laughed, and then withdrew a small stuffed wolf from his robe pockets. "I- I asked her why it was a wolf, she only shrugged at me. I wasn't sure it was appropriate-"
"It's great, Harry, thank you." Tonks said, as Harry handed the stuffed wolf to Remus. "I think Remus has formed a sort of sense of humour regarding his-"
"Which I would blame on you." Remus said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I thought James and Sirius were bad with werewolf jokes, you should hear some of the ones she's come up with."
Andromeda was already by the fireplace holding the Floo powder when she got downstairs.
"I'll send a message when I can." She promised, grabbing the Floo powder and vanishing into the green flames. She stumbled into Dawlish's office a few seconds later, grabbing the back of an empty chair to steady herself.
"Are you alright?" Dawlish asked, from where he was standing next to his desk.
"I'm fine, that happens a lot lately- I didn't Floo much last time, so I really didn't realise how I'd feel while Flooing." She said, and then she straightened up. "Dawlish- you found him?" She asked eagerly.
"I'll take you to St Mungo's." He said. "Just wanted you to come here first, so you weren't Flooing distracted-"
"He's in St Mungo's..." She said quietly. "Is he alright?"
"Rough shape, but looks like he'll live. He woke up just as they arrived at St Mungo's, Williamson told me, asked immediately for you and only you. Didn't say much about what had happened to him, or how he felt, he just wanted you." Dawlish said. "Let's not keep him waiting."
She looked at her watch. "Wait, we should get Harry-" She said. "They'd just be finishing, right?"
Dawlish nodded. "If you'd like to get him-"
She was already out of the office, rushing towards the training rooms. They were just leaving the room when she approached.
"Tonks, hi-" Roofie began.
"They found Remus." She said, grinning. "He's in St Mungo's, but he's alive- Harry, come with me."
"Me?" Harry asked.
"I know you mean a lot to Remus, and he means a lot to you." She said, holding out her hand. "You're family, Harry, come on."