So, a *slightly* more upbeat AU.

Slightly.

...

I do want to warn people: I intend this story to last for decades(in story, not like OUR lives)

Which means that I might take a skip at some point once the werewolf arch is over, and visit different character lives, different conflicts, etc-

This includes weddings and next gen kids! Yay!

(warning: non canon couplings might-will- happen)

I don't know how many people are reading this still but I'd love some reviews, they fuel me.

Thanks so much for everyone who has reviewed so far!

"I- uh, I don't know." Harry said slowly, a few moments after Remus left the room to put Teddy down for a nap. "I wouldn't want to intrude-"

"It's not an intrusion." Tonks said. "We don't even celebrate Christmas when we're all together- most of us just drink the week away."

"I wouldn't want to be a bother to your family, Tonks."

"Harry, you're Remus' family, so you're mine as well." She said. "Besides, it'll be good for all of us to get away from magic for a while. Only Mum will have her wand- but that's because she can't live without it."

"You're not bringing yours?" Harry asked.

"I will, but it'll be in my room the entire time. I'll need it for full moon." Tonks said. "Harry, just think about it. You can spend a week with Muggles that are actually decent people, and then a week with just Remus and me."

"I mean, I don't know-"

"We don't want you alone." Tonks said. "And Dawlish said if you refuse to spend Christmas with anyone, he's putting you on house arrest."

"Will he do that?" Harry asked.

"Probably." She said. "Just- Harry, you haven't been able to have a proper Christmas with Remus yet." Tonks said. "And I really do think it'll be good for you."

He sighed. "So what does your family do for Christmas, then?"

"Drink." Tonks said. "We don't exchange gifts on Christmas- mostly because my grandparents spend most of their time traveling and send us things throughout the year anyway, so there's just no point to doing a gift exchange the day of. Which means anything Remus and I give you will be given to you before we even leave, and Teddy's will be done before we leave as well. We have a dinner- which, I'm not sure how awkward that'll be this year considering my Uncle is a vegetarian with very strong opinions and Remus is, well, Remus- we usually try to watch a Muggle movie on Christmas Eve together, but more often than not, it turns into some kind of drinking game and sharing embarrassing stories we have of each other. If, like me and Mum and Gran, you won't be drinking this year- it's going to be hard to keep up with Granddad and Uncle Glen's stories. They will try to destroy each other- and the rest of the family- with stories they have. You and Remus won't be targeted, because you're the new family members and they have no stories about you yet."

"And you? Are you targeted?"

"I'm the only grandchild, of course I am. They love to mention my teen years." Tonks said. "It's what I was most thankful of when I turned seventeen- I was allowed to drink enough to ignore the stories, or I'd bring up various stories I gathered throughout the years. Of course, I'm not sure how much will be different this year, considering- considering Dad's gone. And they haven't met Remus or Teddy either, so it may actually be more tame than past years."

"You didn't visit them last year?" Harry asked. "It would have kept you lot out of the-"

"There was a risk they'd trace us there, we wanted Dad's family as far away from everything as possible. We weren't sure if they'd go there for Christmas again, so we figured if we could keep the Death Eaters from tracing us there, it'd be harder for them to find Dad's family if they chose to do so. So we told them to keep traveling, not to send us anything, and the only time we got in touch after that was to tell them Dad had been killed." She said. "They haven't even seen me since before they left shortly after Dumbledore's death, we only sent them two or three letters last year." She shrugged. "Anyway, I think you'll get along great with them- they're Muggle versions of the Weasleys, really. Except there's only three of them and they drink more. And Harry, they won't know you as the Boy Who Lived. They know about you, and about what happened- but you'll just be Harry to them."

Harry gave her a small smile. "I don't think you'll take no for an answer, will you?"

She shook her head.

"I'll stay the first week-"

"Stay both. That way, you get some time with Remus as well." She said. "Besides, I'm going to very bored on the night of the full moon, and I'd like some company. I don't sleep well those days, and I have a feeling you don't sleep well ever."

He smiled slightly. "I try, but it's difficult sometimes." He said. "I, uh, still have nightmares."

She nodded. "I'm hardly surprised, Harry." She said. "I don't want to say getting away will cure them, but perhaps it'll help a little. Get away from here, get away from magic. The only one who uses magic will be Mum- and I'll use it on full moon only- it's a Muggle town, so you could probably wander if you truly wanted to and no one will know you."

Harry was quiet for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright, I'll spend Christmas with your family, Tonks."

She grinned. "Good, because if you had said 'no' again, I might have Imperiused you."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her as Remus entered the kitchen. "You were not kidding when you said he's been fussy." He said, sitting next to Tonks at the table. She slid a cup of tea in front of him which had been kept warm by a Warming Charm.

"Harry's agreed to join us for Christmas." Tonks said.

"Did you give him a choice?" Remus asked.

"You know better than anyone that I made it seem he had a choice, when he really didn't."

Harry shrugged. "I suppose it'll be nice to be away from most magic for a while."

Tonks nodded. "That's what I've been saying."

"We can't exactly go the whole two weeks without magic-" Remus began.

Tonks shook her head. "We'll take the week's worth of Wolfsbane with us, because Merlin knows I can't brew it myself, and I'll have my wand for the full moon only. Other than that, I don't see a reason to use magic- except for Mum, who uses magic all the time."

Remus nodded slowly. "Sounds like you have this all planned out, Dora-"

"Of course I do."

"Are you alright?" She asked, standing in the doorway. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning forward with his head in his hands. "Remus?"

He didn't respond until she walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched when her hand made contact, looking up at her. "Dora, I'm sorry."

"Why?" She asked, sitting next to him. Her heart was pounding when she realised how familiar this scene seemed. Was he leaving again? Would she wake up tomorrow, and find him gone? "Remus, what's wrong?"

"I-" He began, and then he sighed. "I was just thinking."

"Oh, what a shocker."

He smiled a little bitterly.

"Remus, what were you thinking about?"

"I- I don't know how to say it."

"Well, using words might be a good start."

"You're a pain in the arse, Nymphadora."

She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know, love. And I'm willing to ignore that you've used my first name, if you're willing to talk." She said. "Now, what were you thinking about?"

"I think I want to mark you." He said quietly. "And I don't like that I want it."

"Remus, it's not a bad thing." She said slowly. "It-"

"It is a bad thing, Dora." Remus said. "I don't like how I feel sometimes, like I-" He let out a shaky breath.

"Like?" She prompted.

"Like I need to be in charge of you." Remus said. "Like I shouldn't trust you."

She inhaled sharply.

"It's not even me, I don't think, who feels like this. It's- it's like it's part of the wolf. And I don't know if it's going to get better or worse, or if this is just how I'll always feel."

"Have you always felt like this?"

He shook his head. "Not like this." He said. "Never like this, never this bad. Before we got married, when I was trying to push you away- part of me felt jealous at the idea of you being with someone else, even though I expected you to move on."

"But I didn't."

"But you didn't." He said with a nod. "And when we got married, I felt- it's why I got angry when you weren't back before I was, like you were supposed to be on the night we moved Harry. I was relieved, you were alive and you were okay, but I was angry. You had been so insistent on participating that night, and I couldn't be by your side- like I should've been. I felt extremely conflicted that night. I actually planned to mark you that night, and the worst part is that I didn't even consider for a moment to mention the mark to you. I just wanted to do it."

"But you didn't."

"But I didn't." Remus said with a nod. "It kept crossing my mind before you got there, and when I saw you were safe, the thoughts got worse- I was able to push them aside when Bill said that Alastor was dead, I was able to leave to search for his body and get some space, but they came back when I got home."

"Is that why you started to shut me out?"

He nodded. "I hoped maybe you'd start to rethink things if I became distant, but-"

"I didn't." She said with a small smile.

"No, you didn't." He replied, taking her hand. "And for the life of me, I can't figure out why."