CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Frowning, Tonks stared at the lighted cottage of her and Remus's home, with her new friend and fellow She-Wolf, Norah, by her side. Though ordinarily she would have been excited at the prospect of allowing a new friend entrance into her and her husband's simple home, to offer Norah a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits or cookies, somehow, she couldn't manage to pretend to care, much less feel anything positive right now after that.

Remus was home, which meant that someone—probably Arthur or Kingsley if she had to hazard a guess—had managed to send word to her husband either via Patronus or owl post of what had happened to his wife today, which had led the man to skip night duty.

The pair of witches slowly made their way up to the door. Tonks bit her bottom lip and looked over her shoulder at Norah as she dipped into the main compartment of her purse for the keys.

Normally, she would have just used her wand to open the door, but she lacked the strength tonight to summon the energy reserves within herself to use her magic, so the old-fashioned Muggle way of jiggling the keys in the locks was going to have to suffice.

"Looks like Remus is home. You—you don't have to stay, Norah, you can go home," she told her, hoping that she sounded polite enough. She didn't really feel like talking.

Tonks could not remember the last time she felt so bloody utterly defeated and could not bring herself to care about the possibility of having to entertain a new guest tonight.

Norah bit the inside wall of her cheek, raking her tongue along the top row of her teeth, still reluctant to leave her alone, at least not until she knew for sure that Mr. Lupin wasn't going to overreact to what had happened to his pregnant wife tonight.

"I could come in just for a moment to explain to your husband what happened," Norah offered. "If…if you want," she added, immediately trying to correct herself after a hesitant pause.

Though Tonks offered the young blonde werewolf a soft smile, Norah wasn't fooled. She could see the hint of tears stinging at her eyes.

She wished she were a Legilimens and could know with just a quick dip into Mrs. Lupin's mind exactly what Tonks was thinking.

Tonks could not quite explain it, but suddenly, she did want Norah to come in with her, just for a moment, if only to let Remus know that she had not been entirely alone throughout the traumatizing ordeal of what had happened to her in The Leaky Cauldron.

She doubted having Norah present would tamper down the worst of Remus's fears at the stigma that he had unleashed on her following the aftermath of the attack, or what his reaction would be to the fact that Umbridge had fired her this afternoon, though she hoped that Remus would just listen, and in time, offer advice on what she should do, then.

Tonks nodded and blinked back a fresh wave of tears, swallowing down hard past the growing lump in her throat as she motioned for Norah with a wave of her arm to follow.

However, before she'd barely made it off the front step of their cottage's little porch, the door flung open, and there stood her husband, looking much paler than she had ever seen him before, his face pulled tight and taut with worry for her, his scars more pronounced, the pink jagged lines of the scars alongside his face more grotesque and shocking in the dim light that cast a faint glow from the tip of his wand as he held it out.

"Dora," he breathed, not even waiting as he rushed towards his wife, engulfing her trembling frame in a tight, rib-crushing hug, ignored her muffled squeak of surprise. "You're all right," he murmured, whispering it into the shell of Tonks's ear, tightening his grip, his fingers clutching onto the back of her shirt for support.

Remus hugged her firmly but carefully, resting his strong hand on the back of Tonks's head, pressing in tightly.

It made a drop of rage spread as a fever within his bloodstream to think of Dolores Jane Umbridge taken advantage of his wife's vulnerability when she was still healing, and Moody and Mr. Weasley, from the sound of things, had betrayed his wife's trust tonight.

At last, he pulled back reluctantly to study Tonks's face, feeling his heart giving a painful little lurch as he reached up a slightly trembling hand to brush a wavy lock of her hair off Tonks's shoulder, before remembering that the other werewolf had escorted her home.

"Miss Jameson," he called out, raising his voice slightly to ensure Norah heard him.

Norah, whose back was turned on both of them as the young blonde witch had turned on the heel of her black leather boot to go, slowly swiveled back around, shifting at the waist slightly, and lifted her chin somewhat hesitantly to regard Lupin with a furtive, guilty look in her eyes, though why she wore an expression of such guilt was beyond Remus.

"Thank you," he managed to croak out in a rough, coarse voice. "For saving my wife. Please," he gestured towards the flung-open door of their cottage. "Do not leave just yet, wait for a moment. I—I want to hear exactly what happened, Norah. Come in. Get warm."

Norah swallowed a lump in her throat, though Tonks quickly nodded her agreement.

This was…weird. What did Remus want with her if she had nothing to offer in return?

She had done her part. Gotten Tonks home to him safely, and now, why did he even want her there? Tonks could tell Mr. Lupin everything that she was comfortable sharing.

Remus and Tonks collectively continued looking down at Norah from their perch on the topmost step of their cottage's porch, waiting for the young blonde woman to answer.

He did not ask again. He just continued waiting patiently for Norah to respond.

"All right. But only for a moment. It's getting late, and I'm afraid I cannot stay," She heard herself give in, slumping her shoulders, shoving her hands in the pockets of her black leather jacket, and followed the married couple up the steps and into the little house.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Lupin called from the kitchen, and both Tonks and Norah's wolfish hearing picked up on the clanging sound of what sounded like a teapot, as Remus was no doubt in the midst of preparing a hot drink to calm his wife.

Norah shook her head. "I—I'm fine, no thank you, Mr. Lupin," she politely declined. She turned around and watched Tonks eyeballing her from her perch on the couch, having sat down, and pulled her knees up to her chest, draping a thick blanket over her lap, shivering. The married couple didn't have too terribly much in terms of decorations.

A few moving photographs carefully framed of their wedding day hung on the mantle near the fireplace, which Tonks pointed her wand at and lit the hearth with a crackling fire. A comfortable-looking sofa, a few chairs, two or three shelves filled with books.

Tonks spoke up from her spot on the sofa, offering Norah a tired smile as her husband finally emerged from the kitchen, carrying three mugs of steaming hot tea on a plastic tray.

"You can sit down if you want, Norah. We don't bite," Tonks joked weakly, offering the young blonde werewolf a wry little half-smile, though Norah wasn't fooled. It didn't reach the younger witch's eyes; her smile and her light gray eyes were incredibly strained.

Norah slowly sat down across from Remus and Tonks in the spare leather armchair across from the fire, appearing to try to purposefully keep her distance as best she could, only begrudgingly accepting one of the steaming mugs of hot Earl Grey tea when she sensed that Tonks's husband was not about to take no for an answer, and would probably think her incredibly rude if she declined.

She sighed, lifting the rim of the mug to her cracked lips, and winced as the burning hot liquid soothed her throat going down.

It seemed to take Norah an eternity to find her voice, merely content to watch for a moment as Lupin pulled his wife close and rubbed small, comforting circles on her back.

Whispering soothing words of reassurance into Tonks's ear, purposefully too low for Norah's heightened wolfish senses to pick up on, not that she was about to eavesdrop, anyways, she would never stoop that low.

Furrowing her brows into a frown, she shoved aside her mug of tea on the saucer, setting it on the coffee table in front of her before lacing her hands together, fidgeting with her wedding band before speaking to Tonks.

"You know we can get that man in trouble, right, Tonks?" she pressed, careful to keep her voice as non-accusatory as possible. "I saw what that man was about to do to you. He would have humiliated you entirely if I hadn't come when I did. I'll back up your story. We can describe him to the Aurors if you want to call them and press charges against him. You don't have to let that creep get away with what he almost succeeded in doing to you."

Tonks sighed and closed her eyes shut, hearing Remus's audible gasp of surprise.

She really didn't bloody want to deal with this right now, but sooner or later, she owed her husband an explanation.

Guess I should just get it over with now, Tonks thought bitterly.

"Dora?" Remus pressed, the edges of his voice was concerned and hardened.

Tonks liked to think she knew her husband well enough to know when the man was growing angry, though, in this regard, it was not at her or Sirius for getting on his last nerve with something trivial.

She knew his anger was stemming from what this unknown man had almost done to his wife tonight, and he didn't even know the full extent of the damage.

Norah tried again. "You don't have to let that wizard get away with this. What he did to you was a hate crime, Tonks. I can't tell you what to do, but I really think you should press charges against him and file a complaint with your former department. With all your connections, someone could easily track this man down and make him pay for this."

"I know." Tonks's words were so faint, that Remus felt sure he might have missed his wife's words completely had he not been sitting right next to her and hanging onto her every word.

Tonks blearily opened her eyes and struggled to focus her stinging, tear-filled vision more than a few feet in front of her as she stared across their living room at the wall.

She could not still quite believe just how bloody awful and traumatic tonight was.

What had started out as a routine day at the Ministry had ended with her losing her job in front of Arthur and Kingsley, and an hour or two of sulking in The Leaky Cauldron had devolved into perhaps the most terrifying moment Tonks had ever experienced in her entire life, and she had been through quite a lot during her career as a seasoned Auror.

Remus furrowed his brows and looked up at the young blonde witch across the coffee table, noticing how she was practically leaning off the edge of her seat and fixing his wife with a pointed glower, trying every tactic she could think of to get Tonks to come to sense.

Something within the woman's countenance gave Lupin pause, and his frown deepened as he glanced at his wife out of the corner of his eyes. A muffled noise caught his attention.

A mournful, broken weeping. She didn't seem to be too harmed, for which Remus felt immensely grateful, though he felt the surge of anger course through his bloodstream yet again at the thought of someone hurting his sweet, innocent, lovely wife.

And now, he wanted nothing more than to track down the very wizard who had done this to Dora himself, allow the Mad Beast to take control and rip him limb from limb.

For all the times he had seen Tonks cry, Lupin felt sure he had never quite seen her completely lose her composure like this.

Whatever she had endured must have been traumatizing.

"Tonks?" he murmured, draping his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. "Tell me what happened, and tell me the truth," he urged, unable to keep the note of desperation out of his voice. "Either one of you. Please," Remus begged, biting the inside wall of his cheek.

A pause in Tonks's response was nothing that Lupin could have hoped for, with Remus able to practically smell his wife's fear that was emanating off her in waves, and the hand not currently draped over his wife's shoulder curled into a tight, shaking fist in his lap.

His wife sanguinely raised her head at the sound of her husband's soft, un-accusing voice, and the look of anguish and heartbreak on her pale face almost physically hurt him.

Her eyes were red-rimmed and glassy, fresh tears streaking down her blotchy cheeks.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, well aware his tone sounded clipped and the edges of his voice hardened and rougher than usual, though he currently feared the worst for Tonks.

She shook her head numbly in response. "N—no, Rem. I—I'm not," she whispered, ducking her head in response though both Remus and Tonks glanced sharply upward once they heard Norah emit a low, threatening growl of disbelief from where Norah sat.

"I don't know exactly what that creep did to you, Tonks, but he shouldn't be allowed to just get away with it. What if he tries to do it to someone else, then what?" Norah started cautiously, her sharp, sky-blue eyes flitting from Tonks to Remus, seeing the antagonized hurt in Remus's eyes and deciding it was not her business to reveal the precarious position she had found the man's wife in, that it was going to have to be Tonks's news to share, if and whenever she was ready.

She drew in a deep breath and continued.

"And you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but at the very least, I still think you should press charges. You did not deserve any of that kind of treatment and he does deserve to face consequences for his actions," she added, hardening her voice as she fixed Remus with a pointed stare of her own, who quickly nodded his agreement, though he had a thousand and one burning questions on the tip of his tongue, just begging to be asked.

He needed to know if his wife needed to go to St. Mungo's, if their baby was going to be all right.

Lupin watched in silence as Norah murmured a half-hearted excuse as she rose from her seat about how it was getting late, thanks for the tea, but she needed to get going.

Though right as Norah's hand was outstretched and reaching for the doorknob to show herself out as she shrugged into her black leather jacket as much as possible for warmth, Tonks's voice cut through the tense, silent room, rendering Norah unmoved.

"Norah?" Tonks spoke up from her place on the sofa as she rested back against one of the couch cushions.

Norah hesitated, but looked back, glancing over her shoulder. "Yeah? What is it?"

"Did you find me on purpose? Did…" Tonks bit her lip in indecision, letting out a tiny sigh as the soothing, circular motion of her husband rubbing small circles into her back calmed her.

She closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the sensation before opening them again and meeting Norah's patient gaze.

"Did Arthur or someone at the Ministry tell you where I'd be? I mean…how is it that you knew to come to The Leaky Cauldron when you did? Were you actively looking for me?"

Though Tonks didn't have the answer yet, it did not mean that no matter what the young blonde werewolf's motives were, she couldn't appreciate the gesture.

If Norah hadn't found her, well…Tonks shuddered, not even wanting to think of what would have happened to her if she hadn't come when Norah had.

"I was worried for you," Norah answered simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

"You were?" Tonks questioned, raising her brows in slight disbelief at the She-Wolf.

"Yes. When you didn't come out of the witches' lavatory after about fifteen minutes, I got concerned. I wanted to make sure you were okay and weren't hurt or sick or anything."

Tonks nodded and slowly leaned her head against Remus's shoulder, feeling relieved that her husband did not object.

She rested her head against Lupin's chest and closed her eyes, feeling his arms wrap tightly and securely around her shoulders, adjusting the blanket so he effectively joined her underneath the blanket, for comfort as much for warmth for the light breeze that was wafting its way through the open front door of their house as Norah had by this point, opened the door and was preparing to leave for home.

"Thank you for coming to check on me, Norah," Tonks finally told Norah Jameson in a low whisper, trying silently to thank the slightly older blonde witch with just her eyes.

Norah would never have any idea just how truly grateful she was that Norah had come into the loo when she had.

"And for getting rid of that creep," she sighed, reaching up a lock of her light ash brown hair to tuck back off her shoulder. "I think you're right," Tonks added, glancing at her husband briefly, ignoring Remus's look of relieved surprise as she heard him exhale. "Rem and I will file a report in the morning. I know just who to call," she growled.

Norah nodded, her ears perking up a little upon hearing that Tonks was going to do the right thing and report the man who had attempted to physically assault her in the lavatory of The Leaky Cauldron, briefly tempted to ask who her contact at the Ministry was, though thought better of it when she witnessed Tonks trying (and failing) to stifle a huge yawn with the back of her hand.

Norah took that as her immediate cue to leave them.

"Well, I should—I—I need to get going," Norah mumbled, feeling a light pink blush speckle along her cheeks as she swiped her blonde bangs out of her eyes and tucked a lock of her pixie back behind her ear where it belonged. "It's late, and you two have a lot to talk about."

She turned away, though not before turning back around and biting on her lip.

"Maybe in another day or two, I could stop by?" Norah asked, directing her attention now to Remus. "I—I need to chase down a few more leads, but I think I might have an idea of where my son and husband are being held, where Greyback is hiding," she growled lowly. "I don't want to make a move until I know for sure, but I'll be in touch if that's okay…"

Remus nodded, waiting with bated breath as Norah mumbled a half-hearted goodbye and thanked them both again for the tea and allowing her a minute or two to warm up before she shrugged into her black leather jacket and gingerly closed the door behind her.

He did not speak for several minutes, not even after hearing the loud, audible crack! of Norah Jameson turning on the heel of her boot and Disapparating off of their property.

Lupin did not know exactly what to say in this regard and decided it would be best to wait for Tonks to speak first when she had calmed down a bit and had drunken her tea.

It did not take her long. "I—I lost my job today, Remus. U—Umbridge fired me. She—she about out about my admittance into St. Mungo's somehow, had the discharge paperwork and the photographic evidence of my scars, said that I was a danger to my department, and they could not keep me on staff," Tonks whispered in a hoarse voice that did not sound like her at all, in a faint whisper, that had Remus not already been hanging onto his wife's every word, he felt sure he'd have missed her words entirely.

Lupin felt his concern melt away to something quieter and sadder as he watched Tonks struggle to reign in her grief, clutching onto her mug of still-hot tea, seemingly afraid to meet his gaze.

Remus felt his lips part open slightly to speak, though he found he had nothing to say in response to that.

He could tell just by looking at Tonks that his wife had never been fired from a job before in her life, and neither, to that extent, had he.

Remus had merely taken it upon himself to never keep a job too terribly long, lest his employer finds out the truth about his condition, constantly having to move positions, always before the next full moon cycle and forced to take menial jobs that were well below his skills and paygrade.

Professor Dumbledore had hinted to Remus more than once within the last week or so how much the students at Hogwarts missed him in the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, and how the kids all wished he would come back.

Particularly Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He had been mentioning to broach the subject with Tonks tonight, that he was seriously considering the Headmaster's offer, considering the little fact that Tonks was now pregnant with his child and they would soon have a baby to support and care for, though now, Remus knew, was not the time for that.

He racked his brain in silence, trying to think of something to say, but he was too distracted.

All he understood in this moment was that his wife had suffered egregiously at the hands of a prejudiced wizard, had gone through unspeakable torment that no one should ever have to suffer through, and Remus did not know how to help Dora tonight.

"What can I do?" he eventually asked, his voice hushed as he rubbed her shoulder.

"Just…hold me," Tonks whispered, pulling back slightly to study Remus's face, her face twisting and contorting with grief until her calm façade crumpled, and her head dropped back into her folded arms.

Hesitantly, Lupin scooted a fraction of an inch closer on the sofa and wrapped his arms around his wife's violently trembling, slender form.

Tonks immediately turned and buried her face in Lupin's chest, where she let herself cry into the material of his thick sweater without any kind of restraint, now that they were alone.

As his sweater grew damp with his wife's tears, Lupin tried to understand what had happened, the unspoken event that lingered in the air between them as he recollected over what few tidbits he had managed to learn from snippets of Norah's conversation.

Someone had attacked his wife tonight in The Leaky Cauldron. Why? Had Tonks done something, said something perhaps, to offend this unnamed man? Was she injured?

Remus did not give his questions a voice, as much as they burned for answers. He had a feeling (or at least, he hoped!) that Tonks would come to him with it when she was ready.

All he could do was honor Dora's request and hold her in silence and allow the waves of sadness to pass through her. He continued his efforts to calm his wife down, rubbing small circles near the center of her spine until her body ceased to shudder with hysterical sobs.

"I'll…I'll tell you what happened, Rem," Tonks whispered in a faint voice. "I—I only hope that you won't…that you won't be mad at me," she croaked, blinking back fresh tears.

"How could I ever be mad at you, Dora?" Remus challenged immediately, though he felt more questions rise within his chest, and not without a small modicum of anxiety.

Lupin pushed them away, reminding himself there was a time and a place, and he needed to be patient with his wife.

She was not at all used to the harsh prejudices and living conditions of life as a fully-fledged werewolf. Tonight, sadly, had been her first exposure to his reality.

He'd had his entire life since he was five years old to learn how to cope with his condition and the challenges that being a werewolf ultimately posted, but not Tonks.

Tonks was barely two weeks past her admittance into St. Mungo's as it was.

Tonks had said they wanted to talk, and so they would, and it was this thought that caused Remus to brush away these concerns with a careful tenderness as he stroked Dora's cheek, brushing away the last of her tears with the pad of his calloused thumb.

After a moment, Remus drew away from her. Tonks looked up at Lupin with hollowed, listless eyes, her tears now completely spent, all that was left was a horrible emptiness.

A single stray strand of her soft, red hair this evening clung to her cheek, and Remus brushed it away with a careful tenderness, and he draped the blanket that was resting on top of the couch cushions over her shoulders. "I don't want you getting sick, sweetheart."

Tonks offered Remus a weak smile in thanks, though to her husband, it looked more like a pained grimace. "I—I scared you tonight, Rem. I—I'm sorry for what happened."

She bit her bottom lip and glanced down into her mug of tea, not wanting to meet his gaze. Lupin said nothing as he settled back down onto the couch and pulled Tonks close.

Tonks was right. He was scared for Dora, but in his mind, it was nothing compared to the relief of seeing Norah Jameson had escorted Tonks home before anything bad happened.

He had fully been about to go out and look for her at all their usual spots they frequented and had been on the brink of Disapparating himself when Norah had brought Tonks home, just in the nick of time.

The pair of them stayed silent for a moment. Remus watched Tonks nurse her Earl Grey tea as she tried to collectively gather her thoughts.

Outside their simple cottage, a heavy wind had begun to pick up and blew a howling draft through their living room.

So much so, that Lupin had to raise his wand and close the window from where he sat.

"I—I don't know where to start, Rem," Tonks whispered eventually once Remus had set his wand down on the coffee table in front of him. "I…I lost my job tonight, Remus."

Tonks did not look at Remus directly, choosing instead to speak into her mug, her downcast eyes brimming with shame and a sudden onset of fresh tears, though she swallowed down hard past the lump in her throat and fought back the urge to cry again.

Lupin let out a tiny sigh and took both her hands in his, giving them a firm but reassuring squeeze. He needed to let Dora know that he was right by her side right now.

"I'm right here where I'm sitting, sweetheart. I'm not anywhere else. Start from wherever you want, Tonks. I promise that I won't get angry with you, Dora. I swear it."

Tonks nodded, sniffling once or twice before setting her mug of tea down and speaking.

And so, Tonks started at the beginning and told him everything…