SorrySorrySorry for taking so long to update! These last semesters of school have kicked my butt! Good news: I am now done with my degrees and I am officially a college graduate! I am going to attempt to finish this story this summer before I start grad school, but you know what they say about the best laid plans... I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

I still don't own Harry Potter.

Lila did not waste a moment when they made it to Grimmauld Place. She was running up the stairs before Tonks could show her the way. Predictably, Walburga did not approve of such staircase-rattling enthusiasm. "Blood traitors! Half-breeds! Desecrating the house of my fathers!"

Tonks ran after Lila while Kingsley dealt with the unruly portrait. Luckily, the shrieks had distracted Lila enough for Tonks to catch her before she accidentally darted into a danger zone—or Kreacher. "Lila, you have to wait a moment. I will show you to Jeremy in just a moment…"

Remus emerged from their bedroom to investigate the source of the commotion. He looked pleasantly surprised to see the new arrival. He extended his hand to her, "Hello, I am Dora's husband, Remus. You must be Lila Gray."

Tonks knew this was a test. He wanted to see if she hesitated before touching his hand. Lila seemed to see it for what it was, because she took his hand firmly while not breaking eye contact for the briefest moment. "Pleasure to meet you Remus," she smiled.

Remus smiled back. "I have heard a lot about you. Jeremy has spoken of little else."

"I hope it has been good."

"It has," Remus assured her, "I'm sure he will be wanting to see you. He is awake now if you want…"

"Yes. Please take me to him immediately," Lila insisted.

"Lila," Tonks cautioned, "We must warn you that his injuries still look pretty bad. Werewolf bites do not heal like normal injuries, not even magical ones. There are few options other than letting them heal themselves and keeping infection at bay. He was in pretty bad shape when we found him. Patches of skin had already gone necrotic, and the Healer said that given a few more days he would have had a nasty case of sepsis. He is weak, and very sore around the bites on his calves and right shoulder."

"I will be careful. I don't care what he looks like. I only want to see that he is alive with my own eyes. I want him to know that he is not alone."

Tonks nodded encouragingly. "Follow me."

True to Remus' word, Jeremy was awake when they entered the sickroom. His face broke in to a wide smile when he saw Lila and he began struggling to pull himself up. Lila rushed to his side and carefully pulled him up into her arms.

"M'sorry. M' so sorry," Jeremy sobbed into Lila's shoulder.

Lila shushed him, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just so happy you are safe."

"Should have kept my mouth shut. Should have known nothing good would come of disagreeing with McNair..."

"You stood up for what you know is right. I am proud of you, because that is the man I fell in love with... My champion of the voiceless."

Jeremy blushed, "You make me sound like a hero. I did not do that much, really. What did I accomplish?"

"Imagine if more people were like you," Remus offered, "You were afraid of werewolves, but you did not let your fear justify the inhuman treatment we receive. If more people thought like that, where would we be? Sometimes setting the example is the hardest and most heroic thing you can do."

"Other people will start to wonder," Tonks assured him, "They will see that the people who disagree are the ones attacked, and will eventually make the connection that the enslavement of werewolves is a way to silence dissenters. What you said will start them on that track."

"But what will happen now?" Lila asked, "Will we be able to help here?"

Remus and Tonks exchanged looks. "We don't turn away help, but you need to understand the dangers. We have lost people," Tonks said with a glance toward Remus, "Very good people. It is not a decision to take lightly. It will be quite a while before Jeremy is at full strength. Because he has not yet been taken by the ministry, I still think it is best for the both of you to leave the country. If you would still like to join and help, we will put you in contact with our partners in France."

"We will need allies moving forward, and we need contacts to convince them to help us. There is more that you can do for werewolves as well. I am afraid Jeremy is not the first victim of a planned attack and he will not be the last. We want to set up a network, a support group if you will, for werewolves and their families. We will need someone to head up the group in France. It might not be the action either of you thought to see, but it is important work."

Lila brushed away her husband's fringe tenderly. "What do you think, love?"

"You are, of course, under no obligation to help at all. There are no conditions to the help you receive from us, no strings attached."

"I know," Jeremy said, "That is why we want to help."

Tonks smiled, "Well then, welcome to the Order! Dumbledore will want to have a chat with you. You two are the first we have recruited without some pretty intense stalking... Er... Surveillance... Before inviting in. It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that..."

"You can't afford to trust anyone. Believe me, I have learned that lesson. I'm not insulted. Especially considering I attacked you the first time we met."

"What?" Lila gasped, looking at Jeremy sternly.

"A misunderstanding," Remus assured her, "He was nearly delirious with fever at the time and under the impression we were from the Ministry. It is understandable."

They fell into silence. Lila continued to run her fingers though Jeremy's hair, perched on the edge of his bed. The shared a calm, loving gaze as if they were the only two people on the room... In the whole world. Tonks coughed awkwardly. "We will just go let the two of you catch up. Remus and I will be around for a few days if you need anything. Just about anyone in this house will help you. The house elf is the only exception, oddly enough." Lila and Jeremy smiled and thanked them earnestly.

Tonks and Remus closed the door behind them to give the reunited couple their privacy. They slipped off to the library, close enough to the makeshift hospital to allow them to hear any calls for assistance, but far enough away to not be intrusive.

Remus lit a crackling fire in the grate while Tonks thumbed through the real estate sections of the Daily Prophet and the Daily Mail. "How about this one?" Tonks asked, pointing to an ad in the muggle paper, "A three bedroom two bath cottage in Devonshire on 15 acres of land?"

"How much?"

"Within reason..."

"Dora..."

"£100,000. The sellers are attempting to sell quickly. It belonged to an elderly relative and has fallen a bit out of shape. A bit of magic should set it right."

Tonks knew she had him. The Galleon was very strong compared to the Pound at the moment, making the price affordable on her salary, and the rural location of property made it ideal for their needs.

"We can make it unplottable, Remus. We can set up muggle repelling charms on the property. The woods would be perfect for Mooney and Keira-cub. There is even a lake for fishing if you want. It is within apparition distance of my work and Grimmauld Place. Have you found anything better?"

"No," Remus admitted with a small smile, "I suppose it would not hurt to look. We will have to modify it so that we won't have bad interactions between the electricity and magic."

"Then it is good the electrical is faulty anyway. We will just take out all the wiring and replace it with magical lighting."

"I will call the agent tomorrow to make an appointment. I just want you to be sure, Dora."

She took his hand. "I am sure this is the right thing for us, for our family."

Remus smiled warmly at that and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Our family," he repeated wistfully, "Okay. We can contact the agent tomorrow and see when we can get an appointment to view it."

Tonks gave him a peck on the cheek, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Already done. We have an appointment tomorrow."

"And what would you have done if I had not agreed?" Remus challenged in her same humorous tone.

"Cancelled, of course. But I knew you would like it. After all, you like a bargain like I do."

"Fine then. Let's see what skills as a handy man I'm going to need to set it right before we move in, please. I can see in your eyes that in your mind you've already moved in and are currently painting walls. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Fine," Tonks huffed, though her fun was not diminished one iota.

As always, please Read and Review! I would like to know someone cares after all this time...