Disclaimer: despite popular belief, I'm not actually JK Rowling!

It was defiantly one of those days. You know the one. You wake up and you almost cry at what you see staring back in the mirror. Then you get two failed essays back and you actually genuinely tried hard on them. Then, the moment you step off the bus to the moment you step inside the door it's a torrential downpour. That, and you're throat feels like hell so you were coughing throughout the entire day.

I hope everyone's days went better than mine did. It was so brilliant I only cried for ten minutes when the home time bell rang!

We re-organised the dinner with my parents for the week after. It was a few days after full moon so Remus was feeling at his best and it was more convenient for me. My time in the muggle prime minister's office hadn't been the most, uh…fulfilling mission of my life. I really had no idea how Kingsley managed to drag himself into the office every single day, but at least now I knew what he meant by "character building."

I borrowed Molly's old dress again as it seemed my parents were taking us to quite a fancy restaurant. Remus put on his best dress robes and I thought he looked hansom, but undoubtedly my parents would find fault in the slightly frayed hems and the faded colour of the material.

"Whatever they say to you I want you to know I don't care." I announced suddenly as I straightened a necklace around my collarbone and looked back over my shoulder as he frowned uncertainly, picking at his robes.

"What if they hate me?" he asked, in an almost childish fashion.

"They won't hate you. Of course they won't. They might show some…uh, mild prejudice at the beginning, but they'll soon switch around." I smiled at him gratefully in the mirror. "Think if it were our little girl, Remus. Wouldn't you like to meet the love of her life?"

He sighed and came up behind me. "You look – ow!"

Remus had spread his fingers over my hand and immediately drew back. There was a horrible burn across his fingers and palm and I looked down at my own hand accusingly.

I'd forgotten I couldn't wear silver.

Remus had screwed up his face in pain and the burn looked hideous. I pulled him into the bathroom and shoved it under a running tap. I wasn't sure if that would work, but what else could I do?

He looked at me apologetically; like this was his fault and I hurriedly took the ring off, shoving it into a draw. "Remus, I am so sorry, I completely forgot!"

He shook his head and withdrew his fingers from the water. "It's fine. Really. We should go, we'll be late."

Typical Remus, acting like nothing is a big deal. I frowned at him, rolled my eyes and took a roll of bandages from the bathroom cabinet and spread some burn oil over it. I had no idea if it would do any good, but it made me feel better.

We set off reluctantly a few minutes later. Remus was certainly acting a lot braver than I felt and when we reached the restaurant doors I turned to face him desperately. "We can cancel-"

"You said it yourself, they have a right to meet me." He smiled and kissed me. "Now come on. You're an auror. You shouldn't be frightened of your parents."

The restaurant was insufferably posh and stuffy. I think it was French, but I wasn't sure. I didn't speak many words of French and had no inclination to start now, the way they were fussing over us, pulling at our coats and Remus's robes and trying to hang them up for us. Like we couldn't do it ourselves?

My parents rose from their seats when they saw us approaching and I was happy to see they were making a slightly warmer effort to greet Remus as well. It seemed they'd had a little chat, which was good because I knew that if they didn't I would do it for them.

"Nymphadora!" my mother said, kissing my cheek and moving onto Remus. Thankfully, she kissed his cheek as well. "And hello, Remus! Oh my, what happened to your hand?"

He began to make up some excuse but I quickly intervened. "I accidentally touched his hand when I was wearing a silver ring. Entirely my fault." I smiled at the three of them, shocked and seemingly unable to speak. "Dad, how are you?"

"Fine, thank you, Nymphadora."

"Have you ordered already?" I asked politely, sitting down like it was just another meal. Like I wasn't introducing my parents to my boyfriend. To the love of my life. To a werewolf.

"No, we decided to wait."

"How thoughtful."

I made an exaggerated point of stroking Remus's hand throughout the meal and not only for my parent's benefit. I felt incredibly guilty about the whole thing, why had I been so stupid? I made a note of throwing out anything silver the moment I got home.

My father still seemed to be scared of Remus but my mother was making an excellent effort. She'd slipped out of defensive parent mode and into gentle hostess. She wanted this to be perfect, for my sake I hoped.

"So how long have you and Remus been dating?" she asked politely over a fork full of salmon and cucumber.

"Well, uhm." We exchanged bashful smiles. "Technically? We dated for a year and then went on a uh, slight hiatus and joined back together again." I grinned at him lovingly. "I haven't looked back once."

Remus turned slightly pink and examined the tablecloth but I could see he was happy. Mother was beaming and father looked uncomfortable.

"So how is work these days, Nymphadora. We hardly got a chance to talk the other night."

"Mm, it's fine." I said forcibly. "Could be better."

"You don't sound very enthusiastic about that, dear. Are they working you too hard-" my father started but I rolled my eyes, tugging at the tight waist of my dress.

"Its fine, dad. Really." I cut him off again, taking a bite from my dinner. All this money and it still tasted like cardboard.

"No, I really think he's right," Remus said softly from the left of me. I glared at him in betrayal but per usual he stared me down. "You spend all day at the office. There are plenty of other auror's, you shouldn't have to be allocated all the work."

"Whose side are you on?" I said angrily, unable to believe that Remus was ganging up with my parents against me. "Thing's have been better since Scrimgeour became minister," I said then quickly corrected myself. "Well, actually, no they haven't, but they've been better for me."

"You never did like him." Father said, "but I can't see anything wrong with the way he works."

"It's not that I wish any harm to the guy; I'm just saying I could happily sit by while someone knocks his head off." I shrugged, the serious face in the smiling ones around me.

Remus reached for the salt and immediately drew his hand away, cursing. He had removed the bandage so he could use his knife and fork and had absent-mindedly reached for the silver salt dispenser. Twice in an hour was not his greatest achievement. Usually it was me who was so careless.

My mother wrapped her napkin in ice from her glass and held it to his hand. The burn had spread right across his palm now and was even threatened to extend to his wrist. She smiled sympathetically.

"Keep that wrapped around your hand, I'll get the waiter to bring more ice," she said, nodding to a passing waiter and holding up a jug.

Remus grinned and thanked her, trying to pull his hand away but my mother still had her fingers clamped firmly across his palm, holding the ice onto the skin. He swapped a sheepish smile with me and I laughed into my dinner.

Dinner after that was far more relaxed with my parents asking Remus what he did and where he was from. They were surprisingly acceptable over his lycanthropy and the fact he had little income.

In fact, they genuinely seemed to like him, as shocking as that sounds.

My mother was currently rabbitting on about Sirius and how much she adored him, about the theories she believed made him innocent and I just sighed and gave up. Remus was there taking it all with a pained expression and Order regulations or not my mother deserved to know.

"Mum," I said interrupting her and giving Remus a pointed look. "Sirius is dead."

Her smile faded and her mouth drifted slightly open.

"Mum, I'm sorry," I said whispered. "But you were right all along. He was innocent."

"I'm glad someone kept faith in him," Remus said quietly. "He was glad to know you believed in him all along. He always remembered you."

Mum smiled and unexpectedly hugged him. Then she out her napkin to her eyes and dabbed them, saying, "oh, Nymphadora. And you never got to know him."

I blinked a few times, letting it sink in whilst I processed that and remembered my mother knew nothing about the order. "But mum, I did." I said clearly. "I knew him for about a year."

"How?" she gasped.

"I can't tell you."

"Surely you must-"

"Mum, don't press. Just, believe me. It's how Remus and I met."

My mother seemed to find an adoring delight in her favourite cousin bringing her daughter closer to marriage but I let it drop.

We parted ways soon after dessert and Remus and I walked hand in hand for a while down the busy London streets, silent but content with the way the evening had presented itself.

Sirius. If you could see us now. If you could see Remus, how well he's doing. I miss you. We both do. Life wasn't the same when you left, I think you were the glue binding Remus and I together. We needed you and you may have thought you were simply an ex-convict locked in a house but you were wrong. You were so wrong. You were everything to both of us and so many more…

I knew the kids had left before Molly even said a word. She was pale and shaking and the Granger's were sat around the kitchen table with her and Arthur and when I entered the room through the fireplace she dived at me, sobbing hysterically into my shoulder.

Ginny looked pale and her eyes bloodshot and when I looked to her she slowly nodded, like she was agreeing to death certificate. The kids would be fine, they had to be. They always pulled through.

"Oh Tonks!" Molly wailed. "I went up to give them breakfast and they were gone! And – and- Ron left this on his pillow…" she shoved a peice of parchment into my hand, wailed again, and threw herself into a chair.

Remus frowned as he read it over my shoulder. Mum, I'm sorry, but I had to go with Harry and Hermione. You'll understand one day. Ron.

The Granger's were looking pretty upset but holding up all right. I sat next to Ginny at the table and she immediately wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my shoulder.

"Why did they leave?" Mrs. Granger asked softly. "Where did they go?"

No one answered. Then Ginny's muffled voice said, "They went to find Voldemort. They're going to defeat him."

Molly let loose a strangled sob and Ginny buried herself again.

"But why Hermione?" the girls father asked, scratching his chin. "She was always such a good girl…"

Once again, Ginny emerged when everyone was unable to give an answer to this, and her tone was harsh, like the Ginny I knew and loved. "You couldn't possibly understand!" she snapped. "She isn't doing some school project anymore! She's going to do something that will change the world! There's a reason why she met Harry in first year, it wasn't just luck, it was fate! She supposed to help them, and she will, because that's what Hermione does."

Mrs. Granger sighed and a few tears slipped down her cheek. "If we'd known this was going to happen, then we'd have never sent her to that school."

I let out a slow breath in attempt to calm myself. Whether they meant it or not, that was a direct insult to our world. "Look, Hermione would have been affected no matter what. Even muggles are feeling the change."

"Hermione knows she is going into a risk," Remus, ever the diplomat, said calmly. "What she's doing will result in her influencing both worlds. What your daughter is doing is saving many lives. You should be very proud."

But they weren't and I could see it in their eyes. Molly, however, through the grief she was sharing did have the motherly instinct enough for her son to smile happily. "I'm glad they're there to look after Harry. He does seem to attract trouble."

Then she stood up like nothing had happened and began making tea.

Remus stroked my knee reassuringly and Ginny hugged me tighter. Why I was the one receiving reassurance was beyond me but I suppose the feeling was shared.

Ginny and I escaped upstairs whilst the adults talked. I didn't want her to be alone, not when she might be feeling so fragile.

We sat on her bad and talked – about boys, mostly, and when we immerged back downstairs an hour later Remus smiled at my tomato red hair and ran his hand through it. "I like it." He said with a nod. "Suits you much better than pink…"

"I like pink!" Ginny and I said in unison.

He laughed, forcibly I thought.

When Remus and I stepped out into my flat after the brief floo home, Remus took my hand and looked at me intently. "We didn't want to say this in front of Ginny," he said seriously. "But Charlie Weasley has gone missing. We haven't seen him for three days."

My heart sank.

NOT CHARLIE!

Sorry replies are short but I wanna go sleep now…it's been a long hard week.…

Wandless…aww, if you could see me I'd be blushing. I know, but schoolwork is getting in the way of my life. Stupid reality. I know, but Owell. Thanks for reviewing! Xox.

Mouseykins…. I want a werewolf boyfriend! It's so unfair! Gracias, I love them too! Xox.

Princessdza…you're such a sweetie! Thank you so much! Xox.

lupinslady…I know, its about 80,000 words now, can you believe it? I'm such a freak…muah! Xox.

Little tussi…FLUFF LOVERS UNITE! Gracias amiga! Xox.

Kates master…they will get back together, I promise you. Andromeda doesn't know a lot at all…muah! Xox.

Dramaqueen04…oh god essays. Tell me about it! I have three this week, two of them psychology related! Stupid teachers…I hate school, it gets in the way of my life. Xox.

HPBeatles…. thanks! Xox.

Bella1305pickles…you have an incredibly name. Charlie! Aww! Xox.

Autumnbreeze25…. mm, free Weasley's. I'll have mine on a plate, thanks. Rufus is a little -----. I hate him. I love Remus. I want a werewolf boyfriend, they're so interesting. Till next time. Megs. Xox.