The moon has barely set when Tonks finds herself staggering out of bed, unable to resist that panicked bubble urging at her gut. Remus has yet to return, his side of the bed like ice to her roaming fingers.

It's been too long. She knows it; though her mind tries to deny it, comfort her, it's unavoidable now. Something has gone wrong. She finds the clock on the wall, hands clinging to the early morning hours, and she reaches for her chest, pressing against the painful thump of her heart. The broadcast should've ended hours ago.

She grabs her coat from the front hall of the cottage and dives into the kitchen cupboard for something before Apparating off the front steps. The move makes her sick, something that hasn't happened before, though whether it's because of the pregnancy or because of the nerves, she buckles as soon as she touches down again and wretches next to her shoes.

Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, Tonks trudges up the front steps and inside.

"Where are they?" she demands as soon as she's in the door of the Burrow. Molly catches her around the waist as she stumbles towards the counter.

"Caught by Snatchers by the looks of things," Bill says, tossing the grizzled seeds of darkness powder down on the table. He adds the shrunken remains of the radio to the pile. "They left the radio intact, which means they didn't know what they were doing there, or what this was for."

"It was a random raid." George throws himself into a chair, plucking the empty seed pockets from the table. "Entire shop is covered in soot. We really need to start screening who we sell to."

"So you haven't heard anything either?" Tonks says, panic rising in her voice.

Molly shakes her head. "Nothing from Charlie yet."

Tonks swallows and places the vial she's been clutching on the table top, her hands shaking as she pulls away. "The full moon is tonight. And Remus hasn't finished his potion. If Charlie's with him when he changes . . ."

Molly clutches her chest with both hands. "Oh, Merlin."

It's Charlie's grunting that finally brings Remus out of the hazy black fog that's been clouding his judgment since they were grabbed by the Snatchers earlier. He props himself up a little straighter, edging back against a wall, stretching his limbs out. They ache with the weight of the moon, so close now, but the fact that everything still moves means nothing's broken. That's a relief at least.

His face hurts like hell though and he tastes the dried blood crusted on his lips.

Charlie grunts again. "Good, you're awake. Thought I was gunna have to bust us outta here myself. Where are we, you think?"

Remus shrugs his shoulders, then regrets it, biting his teeth against the pain. Definitely bruised some ribs. "Who knows? They've moved us a couple times. Took our wands, too. And the invisibility cloak."

"Bastards," Charlie says, shuffling into a sitting position. He blinks and tips his head back to see Remus. He's sporting another black eye and it's no wonder he hasn't gone blind permanently yet. "Think it's been a day yet? We can't have been tied up for a day, right?"

"We haven't passed another nightfall," Remus confirms. He tests the bonds at his wrists, finding them loose.

"How d'you know?"

"Tonight is the full moon. If it had passed, we would know."

Charlie looks at him, eyes widening with the consequences of those words: full moon. He shifts a little, hands straining the bindings around his wrists, tongue darting out to moisten his lips. "Don't suppose you tucked your potion into your pocket before we left yesterday?"

Remus shakes his head and Charlie lets out a lengthy sigh. "Well, bollocks."

The remainder of the Order, minus Charlie and Remus, sit huddled around the table at the Burrow in what is quickly becoming an all too regular occurrence, Tonks thinks. The only thing that changes is how many members turn up after each catastrophe. They're always losing someone and she refuses to let it be Remus or Charlie this time.

With a gulp, she finishes her tea and the biscuit Molly had set in front of her, urging her to eat something before she makes herself sick again.

"We can't just go barging into the shop again," Bill is saying. "Fred and George already had to skirt around the Death Eater cronies stalking the place. It's a full on trap. They're expecting us to turn up. We do that and more of us will get captured."

"We'll we certainly can't just leave them," Molly says, bustling around and refilling mugs. "Wherever they are."

"Remus is smart and Charlie's . . . well, he's as stubborn as the rest of us Weasley's," Bill says. "They'll be alright."

"So we just sit around and wait?" Tonks says, her worst fears confirmed. If there was anything she wasn't good at—wasn't prepared to do—it was sit around and wait.

Mr. Weasley lets out a lengthy sigh of his own. "Until we hear one way or another there's nothing we can do."

Tonks feels the weight in her chest explode. It's so sharp and fast that she can't breathe. Nothing we can do. The last time she heard those words her dad had been killed.

"Tell me, Lupin!"

Remus shakes his head again, tensing his jaw for the next blow. When it comes, it erupts like fireworks behind his teeth, shooting straight up his head behind his eyes. He feels like they might just explode from their sockets.

"We'll see how you feel after tonight, when you bathe in the blood of your friend here." Greyback chuckles. "Still, I think there'll be enough Weasley's to go around."

He snarls and leaves the cell, locking it with the iron chain.

Remus clutches his jaw; his heart beat is high in his chest.

Charlie tuts when they're alone again, clicking his tongue behind his teeth. "So, I'm getting the feeling he doesn't like you very much."

Remus spits out a clot of blood, running his tongue over his front tooth. It wiggles painfully under his touch. He chokes on the rest of the blood in his mouth as he drags his gaze up to meet Charlie's. "What gave you that impression?"

"Well, if the blood doesn't give it away, the open hostility might."

"Greyback has longstanding issues with my family. And an unhealthy obsession with my wife."

"Guess bargaining our way out of here isn't going to work then? Unless Tonks is willing to play all nicey-nice with the psychotic werewolf." One look at Remus and Charlie back tracks. "Right, too soon for jokes."

"No," Remus continues. "They very much plan to have us die in here, whether I reveal Tonks' location to Greyback or not."

"That settles it then." Charlie snaps the necklace from his neck, beads spilling over the boxed floor. He sorts through the mess, gathering up the long white dragon teeth charms.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting the heck out of here. Said it yourself. We're gunna die in here regardless. Whether by their hand or when you get all dark and hairy tonight. Might as well give escape our best shot." He hands Remus a loose dragon's tooth. "Dragon teeth are like razors. Not as good as a wand, but it'll draw blood just as well." He nods to the chains. "Now get to work. Or was Tonks exaggerating your wandless magic?"

"We're severely outnumber, Charlie. And whether they know how to use them properly or not, the Snatchers still have our wands."

"Then we be smarter. And we get them back."

Remus nods slowly. "The moon is tonight—"

"I think we've covered this already."

Remus rolls his eyes at Charlie before continuing. "Which means Greyback will set out early in pursuit of a target. That's our best chance at escape."

"That closes the window of opportunity substantially."

"We're only going to get one shot at this," Remus says. "We'll have to make the most of it."

Tonks stands at the door of the Burrow, bundling up her coat, while Molly wraps a scarf around her neck.

"Tonks, this is insane. If you're found out—"

Tonks takes both her hands and squeezes. "We have to find them, Molly. It'll be alright"

Bill nods, hand at the small of Tonks' back guiding her outside, beyond the barrier to Apparate. They pause for a minute, their breath white against the sky.

"I'll get myself in," Bill says, "under a dissolution charm. I'll sniff around till I find someone from maintenance you can impersonate."

Tonks nods. "It's the only way I can think of. Remus is wanted. The first thing Greyback would have done is contact the Ministry for his bounty."

"Then let's go track them down." Bill takes her hand and in the time it takes for a breath they're huddle outside the Ministry, sheltered in a dark alley. Bill disappears from sight, and Tonks pulls her scarf tighter, hiding herself from view. She's morphed her hair the drab, mousy brown to avoid being recognized, but her heart still starts when people glance her way.

"Tonks."

She almost jumps out of her skin when Bill returns, still under disillusionment.

He appears slowly, like a reflection in the water top. "Lark Simmons," he says. "Magical maintenance and repair. Out sick today." He tosses her a pair of blue uniforms. "Put these on."

She does and he eyes her warily. "You good? Ready?"

"Yes," she says.

Bill produces a folded picture from his pocket. "Swiped this from his desk."

It's a family portrait. Lark is a big man. Stocky build. With greying, wiry hair and a lengthy beard.

"Is this good enough?" he asks.

"Perfect," Tonks says, committing the image to memory, letting the shapes and colours bleed through her body. Letting it shift and shape her around Teddy.

"How'd I do?" she asks.

"It's uncanny," Bill says.

He wishes her luck then and watches her disappear into the Ministry. Tonks just tries not to puke.

Inside there's less people than she ever remembers seeing at the Ministry, but she doesn't pay that any mind. Instead she books it towards the Auror Department, snatching up a mop at a nearby cupboard to use as cover, knowing that's the last place Yaxley was located.

The offices are dimly lit, most of the regular Auror staff having abandoned their posts. Now these chairs belong to the Death Eaters. Just when she thinks the Department is empty, she hears voices at the end of the hall, drawing nearer on silent feet, wand drawn just in case.

"They have Lupin in custody. Picked him up at that joke shop," she hears. It sounds like Peakes. "Greyback isn't being very forthcoming with the location as of yet."

"Force it out of him if you have to."

"Sir—"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of Greyback, Peakes."

There's a scoff. Then a shuffle. "You didn't see the way he left that last witch he attacked."

"The Dark Lord controls him. He wouldn't dare attack us without order."

"The Dark Lord does not know of all his workings, Yaxley."

There's a long pause. "Perhaps it is time he finds out then. We have two of the Order scum ready to be handed over and that wolf is the only thing standing in our way."

Tonks pulls away from the door, rushing from the office.

"Greyback has them," she says as soon as they bust through the door of the Burrow.

"You're sure?" Molly asks.

"Yes. Yes."

"Did they say where?" Fred and George ask in unison.

"No, but it can't be in the Ministry," Tonks says, "or else Yaxley would have known."

Bill agrees, crossing his arms as he leans against the counter. Molly stuffs a muffin in his hand. "The Ministry would have been convenient, which means Greyback is holding out for something. Something more than his payout."

"He's toying with him," Tonks says and Bill looks up curiously. "With Remus. Greyback has history with him. This is as much about getting back at him as it is about collecting the bounty."

"Where would Greyback take them?"

"The Underground," she says suddenly. Of course! "The one place where he controls everything."

Bill nods and summons a stack of parchment on the table down in front of her. "Draw it for me. What you remember of your time there."

"Bill, it was only a few days."

"You're the only one of us who's been."

Tonks looks up at Bill. "Then I should go with you."

"No!" several of them protest and Tonks resists the urge to groan.

"You cannot go alone!" she says.

"He won't be."

"Kingsley?" Tonks says, spinning on her heel. She hasn't seen him since the raid on the Ministry. He looks . . . well, not good exactly. But it sure as hell is good to see him.

"We're running out of time," he says, offering Tonks a small smile before drawing up to his full height, the weight and authority of one of the top Aurors bleeding through his exterior. "Sunset is drawing near."

Charlie watches in awe as the iron chain around their cell slithers to the ground in a silent puddle. "You know, if I could do half the stuff you can, I'd be Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Remus can't help himself and smiles as he drags the chain out of the way. "Perhaps, if you didn't have the blood of a werewolf tainting your resume."

"Touché. Maybe not Headmaster anyway. Didn't end so well for Dumbledore." He pokes his head out the door. "Do you think he's gone?"

"Yes, but as far as I can tell we're in the werewolf Underground. There's been too many of them coming and going today. It's close to the moon, but some of the pack will have been left behind as guards. We'll most likely be flooded with wolves in his absence, especially after dark. We'll have to be cautious."

Charlie scoffs. "And when am I not cautious these days?"

They run into their first problem when they try to exit the cell block. There's a young wolf that's been left on guard. He's already twitching with the feel of the moon, leaving him distracted, and Remus uses the moment to slip out behind him and wrap a hand around his neck, squeezing his arteries in the crook of his elbow.

He digs the dragon tooth that Charlie gave him up under the wolf's ribs, wrenching his arm back when Charlie comes up from behind and knocks the wolf upside the head. Surprise is plain in his features, brows crooked, eyes pulled to white as his knees buckle and he collapses.

With the weight of the man on his feet, Remus bends hurriedly and digs into the front of his robes, hands wrapping around the wands he finds there.

The bubble in his chest deflates—providing comfort, hope—as he squeezes his own wand between his fingers, the feeling of magic crackling up his wrists.

"Look here, stupid git was sitting on it," Charlie says suddenly, holding up the twisted bulk of Tonks' invisibility cloak.

"Had these too," Remus says, tossing Charlie his wand.

Charlie catches the wand with the tips of his fingers, points it at Remus and yells: "Stupefy!"

For a moment Remus panics, his throat dry as the swish of spell passes close enough to ruffle his hair. The dull thud of a body hitting the floor draws his attention behind him and he sees the body of another snatcher—another wolf—splayed out, unconscious.

"Scared you, didn't I?"

Remus gives Charlie a wry grin before cocking his head and leading him from the cellar.

They exit the darkness, wands drawn and run smack into a group of people. Remus has the makings of a curse on the tip of his tongue, ready to let loose, but Charlie grabs his wrist, lowering the wand.

"Bill, Kingsley, what're you doing here?"

"Rescue party, what d'you think?" Bill says. He's sporting a cut lip but looks otherwise unhurt.

"We're doing quite fine on our own thanks," Charlie deadpans. "Nice of you to cut it this close though."

"Could just leave you here with Remus. I'm sure he'd appreciate the play toy in another hour."

"Very funny."

"Tonks sent this," Kingsley says, passing Remus the vile of Wolfsbane.

"It's too late. It won't have enough time to filter through my body now."

"Then go, Remus. Wherever you need to. We've got this."

"Are you—" The vase by his head shatters into a million pieces, glass shards embedded in his face as he ducks to the ground, his ears burning.

"Guess that stunner wore off," Charlie gripes. "Damn wolf blood." He looks over at Remus as they break into a run. "No offense."

"Let's just get out of here!"

Tonks receives the good news from Molly by Patronus, moments before Remus comes stumbling through the door.

"Remus, Merlin!"

She crushes him to her chest hard enough to break him. She can feel the veins in his neck contorting as she pulls his face to hers, her lips seizing his and searing them together. She wants to keep him here. Hold him close and stroke his skin until the worry abates, but the moon is pulling him away from her.

"Dora," he groans when she breaks away.

"Go," she says, pushing him back out the door, towards the cellar. "Go, Remus."

It looks like the last thing he wants to do in the world, but he goes, one fumbling step at a time as he cranes his neck to see her. His eyes are already yellowing as the cellar door slams closed on top of him.

She listens to him howl that night, to the sound of his claws against the cellar door, the weight of his haunches smashing against concrete walls.

He's hurting himself.

But he isn't Remus.

Not tonight.

The last mouthful of potion still sits on the table top where he left it and she whips it across the room, the echo of howled misery clawing around the cottage and in her head.

When the moon sets, replaced by early streams of light, Remus pads across the garden and into the cottage, trembling with exertion.

Tonks is propped up in the corner of the couch, her head nestled on her arm, the shallow breaths of sleep ruffling the edges of pink hair.

Remus moves on shaky, tired legs, falling down next to her. The movement jostles her awake and she blinks at him owlishly for a moment before her tired eyes become heavy with a new kind of burden.

"Remus," she mumbles, threading her fingers into his tattered and torn robes. Her head droops against his chest as she inhales deep, tickling the skin of his throat. She begins to sob and he pulls her tight against him, falling back along the couch.

She lies on his chest, the wetness from her eyes pooling along his skin. "I thought you were dead," she says when she's regained some of her composure.

"I'm right here, love. I promised you, remember?" He strokes a hand down her spine. "I'm not going anywhere."

She leans away from him, eyes wet as she traces his jaw with her hands. "Merlin, your face."

"Looks worse than it is. I promise."

She summons ointment from the one of the kitchen cupboards and a cloth from the sink. It's not exactly Molly-worthy but it'll have to do in the meantime. "Let me take care of this," she begs.

He shakes his head, straightening against her ministrations, a sudden seriousness in his face, in his voice. "Dora, I want you to go into hiding."

"What," she says, startled by his words. "Remus, I . . . no."

"He wants you," Remus says, holding her by the elbows, fingers tightening. "Greyback wants you more than anything. He's seeking you out. The way he sought me out after my father had angered him. You're his new mark."

"Remus . . . I can't—"

"There is no choice. He will hunt you. The same way the Dark Lord hunted James and Lily."

"That was different."

"How, Dora? He's out for blood. And he won't stop until he gets it."

She stands then, turning away from him. "Enough," she says. "I almost lost you yesterday. I don't want to fight."

Remus stands as well. She can sense his shadow, towering over her, and despite his weariness, there is strength there. "Don't you see, Dora. This is exactly why you must go. I can't bear to lose you or Teddy. How could I . . . how would I—"

His voice breaks and Tonks spins around, reaching for his hand and clutching it to her chest. "Remus," she whispers, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice.

He looks down at her, eyes wide and broken, terrified beyond belief at what he asks of her. What could happen if he doesn't. "Dora, please," he begs.

"Who'd be secret keeper?" she asks in a voice that sounds nothing like her own.

"I'll do it. I'd sooner die then reveal you. You'd be safe."

"Alone?"

"It's the only way to keep you and Teddy from him."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Dora, there isn't a choice. Or time. The Dark Lord is moving. His forces are getting stronger. It has to be now. Before people realize." His eyes fall to the floor. "I wish it wasn't like this. That Teddy wasn't a thought. He puts you in so much more danger. Ties you to me. I'd do anything to make it not so, but I can't undo it now. The only thing I can do is hide you."

Tonks feels the breath stutter from her chest. It's painful, cutting deep inside her ribs, crushing her lungs. How could he? She folds her hands across her chest, feeling the tremor in her arms. "Get out," she mutters.

"Dora?" He reaches for her, but she untucks her hands and forces him away.

"Go, Remus. I can't deal with you right now. Don't you dare stand there and tell me you regret any of it. Not one second. Because I know it's a great, fat lie." Her fists hammer against his chest, the force of her rage enough to jar his heart against his ribs. He can feel the beat echo into his teeth and the pain that registers on her face—the pain that he's caused—is enough to stall his breath.

She turns away from him, turning in on herself, elbows tucked, head to the ground, and when he reaches for her again she lurches away.

His only recourse is to move because he feels like he's drowning. He takes one staggering step backwards, then another, and before he knows it he's out the door and across the yard, stumbling far enough away from the cottage to Apparate.

When she hears the crack she doesn't turn back, just flinches at the sound, the shudder climbing down her spine and leaving her flushed with goosebumps.

Her hands fall to her stomach. To the bump that grows there.

To Teddy.

She will not regret him. Or any of the time she's spent married to Remus. Not one minute of it. No matter how hard it's been or how much harder it will become.

And if Remus is going to stand there and tell her she's better off without him then she certainly doesn't need him right now.

If he's so insistent that she disappear, that she be on her own, then she might as well be.

She swallows down the lump in her throat, sucks back the tears she can feel brimming at her eyelids, and goes to owl her Mum. Some tea and some time away would do her good.

The less time she spends in the cottage the better because despite how angry she feels, she can't ignore how lonely the house is without Remus, and how much she already misses his presence.

She spends most of the time on her own going between her Mum's place and the Burrow. She only lasts so long being fretted over by both women and it's in those moments more than anything that she misses Remus because despite how fiercely she knows he wants to protect her, she also knows that he recognizes how strong she is. How much she is capable of. And despite it being her first time working at this pregnancy thing, she's not completely hopeless.

At least, that's what she tells herself as she stares into the window's reflection at the Burrow. She turns to the side, inspecting her figure as she stands there on the stoop, hand poised at the door handle.

There's definitely a bump now, one that she's noticed more because it's getting in the way of things, not in the way it will in several months, but she feels it when she leans against the counter to grab her mug from the cupboard, or when she's sleeping and rolls over.

Her robes still hide it and the Weird Sister's tee she's got on today just manages to cover her still. But it's frightening how much more real this makes it feel. Being able to see the way she changes to accommodate Teddy . . . it stills her heart.

She shakes her head and with a breathy sigh opens the front door.

"Molly?" she calls.

A flare of red hair and a dish rag appear in the doorway and Molly's eyes widen comically before she bustles down the hall. "Oh, you startled me."

"Sorry, I owled ahead."

"Yes, of course. It's just," her eyes skim the clock on the wall, every hand hovering around mortal peril and her hands wring together. "Well, never mind that now. Come in. Sit down."

She glances at Tonks again, a quick up and down, like she's seeing her for the first time and frowns, pointing at her with a wooden spoon she procures from her apron pocket. "You look kind of peckish, dear. Have you been eating okay?"

Tonks sighs around a smile. "Yes, Molly."

"I know how you get. You're like Ginny. Get all worked up and you forget your head. You know you're eating for two now." She stands at the entrance of the kitchen, waiting for Tonks to catch up. When they meet Molly wraps her in a shuddering hug, one that squeezes Tonks' ribs, making it all the more difficult for her to breathe, but she just squeezes Molly back because she knows these hugs have become few and far between.

Ron's gone. Ginny's at school. And the rest of the Weasley brood are always coming and going on some sort of Order business, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Molly pulls away after a minute, holding Tonks away at arm's length before taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen. "How've you been, dear?"

"Well enough," she says, plopping down in a chair without one ounce of ladylike finesse. Wouldn't her mother be proud.

Molly looks over from where she's puttering with the teapot, prodding it to life with a firm poke from her wand. She twists her lips in a way that has Tonks squirming.

"Honestly, I'm having trouble concentrating lately."

Molly hums sympathetically. "Pregnancy brain. It's common. Though your distraction might belong to something else. Have you heard from Remus at all?" she asks, averting her eyes with as much stealth as a Hippogriff at the dinner table.

Tonks gratefully accepts the mug Molly hands her way, stirring the contents with a whispered spell from her wand before she answers. "He's owled to tell me he's alive at least."

Molly takes the seat beside her. "And have you responded?"

"Only to let him know the same. I don't know what to say to him right now. I can't do this alone. I don't want to do this alone. But if all he wants is to ship me off into hiding, how is that any different."

"Oh, dear. He just wants you to be safe." Molly pats her hand. "You have to understand, he's lived through all this before. With James. With Lily. Only now he has much more to lose."

Tonks feels herself deflate. She'd never thought it through quite like that. It still doesn't change how she feels. She still isn't going to crawl under some rock somewhere and wait out this mess, not knowing if Remus is alive or dead. What of their friends survive. That isn't her.

But maybe she needs to be more understanding. This must feel like a nightmare for him, one he's lived through and carried his entire life, only to walk right into it all over again. How terrible it must be to watch those same things happen: people disappear, die, families be torn apart. How terrible it must be to love someone so much when the chance of losing them to darkness is so high.

Tonks looks up at Molly then. This woman who loves so deeply, gives so much of herself to a family that she's so terrified of losing. Somehow her and Arthur make it work. They'd survived the first war, and Remus and her would survive this one.

Tonks writes to Remus that night and tells him these things. She tells him that she still won't go into hiding. She tells him that she loves him. Then she writes about Teddy. About all the things that have changed, even in that last few weeks, and about how terrified she is of losing them both. But that's no excuse for not trying.

She doesn't beg him to come back.

Only tells him to come back when he's ready.

Remus turns up on the door step the next night. He's shaggy and dishevelled, his hair longer than she's seen it in a while, the shadow of beard dark across his jaw. She wants to kiss him. To fold herself into his arms and surround herself with his scent and never let go.

She doesn't though. Not yet. Just stares at him as he stares at her, eyes flicking down to her stomach, to the bulge that's become so obvious in the last few weeks.

He fights the turn of his lips as a smile pulls at his face. Finally, he says, "I'm sorry."

Tonks steps aside and Remus enters, closing the door behind him with far more care than necessary. And she knows it means he's not here to fight anymore. He's always been visceral. Reacting to the environment in an effort to keep his emotions at bay. Maybe it's the wolf in him. The physical interaction conveying as much as what is said and unsaid. Tonks has learned to read this from him. Learned to pick up on the habits he performs unaware. Despite herself though, she asks, "Are you?"

He nods emphatically. "I didn't mean that I regretted him, Dora. Or us. Only the timing. I wish things could be better." He presses his hands to her stomach, unable to resist. "That we could enjoy this without fear of who's watching."

"Well there isn't anything we can do about that."

"And I don't wish too, truly. I only wish that the world was a better place for Teddy to grow up in."

"We'll just have to manage the best we can."

Remus tilts her chin up. "We will. And you'll be a great Mum. And I'll work on this Dad thing. Maybe the second time around it'll be easier."

"Second time?" Tonks' lips curl up.

"Well, you know . . . someday. Maybe. If Teddy's not too much of a handful and if you want—"

She kisses him hard on the lips then, giving into that last bit of temptation, hands wrapped around his neck and threading into his hair. She kisses him until they're sharing the last bits of oxygen of the same breath. Until she's sated and sure; he responds in kind, erasing all the hurts of the past few weeks, ensuring her that he's missed her as much as she's missed him.

"Where did you go, Remus?" she asks as she pulls away, hands tightening against his robes.

"I went to Grimmauld Place. The Death Eaters are staking it out."

"Did Mrs. Black scream some sense into you?"

"No, but Harry did."

Tonks stills completely and whispers, "You saw Harry?"

"He's on a mission of some sort. I offered to go with him. To help."

Tonks swallows.

"He turned me down. I think it's because he knew I didn't really mean it. I mean I do, I want to help him. I'd do anything. But not when I still have things to do here. And I think he knew that. Hermione wishes you her best. They're all excited about Teddy."

Tonks swallows again, this time against the sting of tears. "I wish we could help them more."

"We are. We're here. Still fighting. That's what Harry needs right now more than anything. Our support. And you need mine. I promise to do better by you, Dora." He holds her face between his palms. "I swear."