Chapter 62: With Wolfsbane

"It was on his eighth birthday," Lyall said to Tonks. They were sitting close together on the sofa in Andromeda and Ted's sitting room. "I remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday. Hope had made this incredible chocolate on chocolate birthday pudding. It was huge, mind you, just for the three of us. Beautifully decorated as well. She spent hours on it." Lyall was grinning as he told his story; he could see the cake perfectly in his mind's eye with all the carefully designed frosting flowers and a large number eight drawn in the center. "Well Remus was quite taken with it, as you can imagine."

"My husband? Taken by a chocolate pudding?" Tonks said flippantly, holding a hand over her heart. "Couldn't be."

Lyall laughed easily at his daughter-in-law's words. The more he got to know Nymphadora Tonks, the more he could see what a perfect match she was for his son. She was quick witted like Remus, but she had an openness about her that balanced out his reserve. She was sweet and attentive when she needed to be, but she also knew when to be boisterous to quickly pull Remus out of the bouts of sadness that seemed to overtake him in prolonged moments of silence.

"We told Remus that we were to save the pudding for after supper," Lyall said.

"And I suppose being the perfect angel he is, he listened," Tonks pressed, a sly grin on her face.

"Our eyes were off him for no more than 15 minutes," Lyall continued. "And as Remus told me later, he only wanted a small taste of the frosting."

"Naturally," Tonks said.

"But a taste of frosting turned into twenty," Lyall said, amusement dancing in his eyes. "And the beautifully decorated birthday pudding was full of hand prints I'm sure. So little Remus decided the logical course of action was to cover up all evidence and he proceeded to eat this very, very large pudding all on his own."

Tonks burst out laughing. "Then what happened?"

"His mother and I discovered him semi-conscious covered in chocolate frosting on the kitchen floor," Lyall told her.

"Did he get into awful trouble?" Tonks asked.

Lyall shook his head. "We didn't have the heart, you see, because Remus spent the rest of his eighth birthday with a horrible stomachache and then ended the night by vomiting spectacularly all over the sofa."

Both Lyall and Tonks were in a fit of laughter when a flash in their faces momentarily stunned them.

"Honestly, Remus," Andromeda said, entering the room. Ted followed behind her. "If you walk around with that camera in front of your face all the time, I'm going to forget what you look like."

Remus lowered the camera that Tonks had given him as a wedding present.

Over the past week, Remus had taken to sneaking up on others and taking candid pictures when no one expected it. Tonks was sure that her husband had enough pictures of her sleeping to paper their bedroom. And Remus was very soft-footed, unlike her, so he was awfully good at catching people off guard. Tonks loved it though. He seemed so happy to capture moments of them all together.

"His mother was exactly the same," Lyall said proudly. "She was a brilliant photographer."

"I'm sure I don't have Mum's eye," Remus said, taking a seat beside his wife. Ted and Andromeda settled themselves in the armchairs across from the sofa. "I'm just messing about."

Andromeda waved her wand and cups of tea flew towards everyone from the tray she had set on the side table. "Remus, no cream and extra sugar?" Andromeda said. "That's how you like it, correct?"

"Yes," Remus said, taking a sip of his tea. "It's perfect. Thank you, Andromeda."

Andromeda nodded once. Over the past week, she had also learned that Lyall Lupin took his tea with lemon.

Lyall moved in the day Tonks and Remus returned from his house.

No one could say how long or short of a time everyone would be staying together. The Fidelius charm was placed around the house.

After much argument, on Tonks's part, it was decided that she would be the secret keeper for the family.

"I'm the best at dueling," she had pressed. "No one will get the secret out of me."

Remus finally agreed to this when Tonks promised him that she would keep herself hidden for the baby's sake and therefore the secret would be safest with her.

The initial arrival of Lyall was a bit awkward. Remus's father had essentially lived alone for the past two decades. The idea of staying with strangers clearly made him uncomfortable, but the situation demanded it.

However, Tonks and her father before her had a great talent for chatting others out of their shyness.

"At last, I am not outnumbered," Ted had announced on Lyall's first night. "Finally, three blokes under the same roof. Even the bloody cat is male. This is brilliant after growing up with three sisters and then being the only man amongst a wife and daughter."

At this, Tonks had chucked a pillow at her father.

"You outnumbered?" Andromeda had retorted. "I beg to differ, Edward Tonks. I seem to remember you and Nymphadora forging quite the club against Mummy and her rules when she was growing up." She had narrowed her eyes but was quickly subdued with a playful peck on the cheek from her husband.

Andromeda and Lyall got on very well. Their somewhat serious personalities fit well together. Additionally, Andromeda was determined that everyone stay together for safety and took extra care to make Remus's father feel welcome.

"What were you two talking about?" Remus asked Tonks and his father. He had captured a lovely picture of them both laughing.

"Your dad was telling me about the birthday pudding incident of sixty-eight," Tonks said.

Remus pressed his lips together. "Oh that," he said.

Tonks giggled and pressed her lips briefly to Remus's cheek.

The week before the full moon, Remus ventured out with his father to the address the healer, Rose Rosamond had provided him.

"What took you so long?" Tonks said, when Remus had returned. She had wanted to go with him, but Remus was set against it.

"I'm sorry," Remus said, kissing his wife's forehead.

"Did you get the potion?" Tonks said impatiently.

Lyall showed Tonks a small basket with six vials of potion. "He took one dose while with the healer," Lyall said.

"Did it seem alright?" Tonks asked her husband anxiously.

"It smelled and tasted just as disgusting as I remember it to be," Remus replied.

"And you don't feel ill or anything after taking it?" Tonks questioned.

"No," Remus assured her. "She is very kind to be helping me, though I still don't understand why she would bother risking so much for a stranger."

"There still seems to be a few good people in the world," Lyall said. "She made Remus wait around after he took the first dose to make sure there were no side effects. Though she seemed confident that she brewed the potion perfectly."

"I think she's lonely," Tonks blurted.

Remus nodded. "Well, that's what took us."

"Next time, I will go with you," Tonks announced.

"We'll see," Remus said drily.

Over the following days, as expected, Remus became quieter and spent more and more time locked in the bedroom he and Tonks shared.

Two days before the full moon he did not get out of bed at all. This was partly from exhaustion, but the moon's severe effects would take place the following day. Tonks knew that her husband was weighed down with dread. Even with the Wolfsbane potion, the transformation was painful, terrifying, and humiliating.

Since the healer's offer to make the potion, Tonks had been forming a plan for the upcoming full moon. She had just been waiting for the right moment to tell her husband. Since the right moment did not present itself, it left today, for tomorrow Remus would be too impaired.

That morning and afternoon, Tonks herself was not feeling well. She could barely stomach food. Andromeda informed her that it was about time that she would be getting morning sickness.

Feeling incredible nauseated, Tonks made her way to the bedroom.

Remus turned in bed as she entered. His face was pale and set.

Tonks began to open her mouth to speak but then promptly closed it again. She slapped her hand over her lips and sprinted to the bathroom. She stuck her head over the toilet just in time to throw up the little breakfast she had managed.

She heard light footsteps behind her before she was sick again. Then Tonks felt Remus's familiar soft touch on the nape of her neck as he drew her hair back.

Tonks groaned and assuring that her stomach was thoroughly empty, she backed away from the toilet bowl, panting slightly.

Remus stood, grabbed a hand towel, and wet it from the tap before kneeling back on the floor with his wife.

He gently dabbed at the corners of her mouth. Tonks's body was quivering slightly. Remus sat and pulled Tonks into his lap, cradling her against his chest. He gently stroked at her hair which was pale blue today.

"There now," he whispered as he could feel her relax against him.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"What for?" he replied.

Tonks glanced up at her husband and gave him a grateful smile. "I don't know why they call it morning sickness when it happens all bloody day," she said.

"Just our child causing trouble already," Remus mused. "Must be yours."

"Well, I should hope so," Tonks said, with an eyeroll.

Remus seemed more alert than he had been in days. It was very like her husband, Tonks thought, to so quickly set aside his own troubles the moment her wellbeing was concerned.

"We have to talk about tomorrow night," she told him.

Remus's face took on a stony appearance again. Tonks would have preferred to have this conversation anywhere else but the bathroom floor.

"I didn't realize that there was anything to discuss," Remus said flatly.

"Of course, there is," Tonks exclaimed. "Last month, you almost died!"

"Last month I was not on Wolfsbane," Remus returned.

"Wolfsbane or not," Tonks continued, "I am going to be with you."

Remus's eyes widened. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

"This could go on forever," Tonks said, a tiny smile pulling at her lips. "Here's what's going to happen-"

"You don't get to make decisions about the full moon," Remus interjected roughly.

"Well, you've made plenty of decisions for me when it wasn't your place," Tonks said fiercely. "You owe me." She watched the color further drain from her husband's face and he immediately shut his mouth. She was not proud of using the abandonment card, but these were desperate times. "This is the plan," she continued. "We're going to go to Mad-eye's house tomorrow evening before the moon's out."

"Why Mad-eye's house?" Remus asked weakly.

"Well, I suppose, it's technically mine," Tonks said, grimacing. "He has loads of dark detectors there and he has a huge cellar, it's empty except for a few old mattresses to cushion falls during dueling practice. It's a perfect place for a werewolf transformation."

Remus took in a sharp gulp of air. "It is public record that you inherited Mad-eye's property," Remus said, "If I were a Death Eater, I would surely go looking for you there."

"Well lucky for us, you aren't a Death Eater," Tonks replied, facetiously.

"I'm serious, Dora," Remus said. "It isn't safe for you."

"It is though," Tonks said. "Because who would come into a house when there's a full-grown werewolf inside."

"You apparently," Remus said bluntly.

"Except that werewolf happens to be my husband," Tonks said. "I will be safe with you."

"You will not be safe with a werewolf," Remus said, his voice going up in volume.

"You've been taking your potion."

"Last time you saw me during a transformation," Remus reminded, "I was on Wolfsbane."

"Last time was admittedly horrible," Tonks agreed. "You didn't hurt me, though. Of course, I don't want you to hurt yourself either. But I won't be sneaking up on you again. That will make the difference. I'm sure of it."

"You're sure of it?" Remus said, unconvinced.

"Yes," Tonks said confidently. "Besides it's different this time too because of the baby."

"The baby is all the more reason you should stay the hell away from me during the full moon."

"Just think of how I've been feeling under the last two full moons," Tonks said. "I want to see if that feeling extends to you."

Remus narrowed his eyes at her. "You and the baby will not be an experiment."

"Remus," Tonks said, her eyes bore into his. "I need you to trust me on this, please. We will be smart about it, I promise. Please, Remus."

Remus pressed his lips into a thin line, surveying his wife. "We will be smart about it," he repeated.

"Yes, we will," Tonks assured him. "We'll be extremely careful."

"If anything goes amiss," Remus said, "you will get out immediately."

"Immediately," Tonks agreed.

"No matter what state I'm in," Remus continued.

Tonks remained silent.

"I need your word on this, Dora," he said.

"No matter what state you're in," she agreed reluctantly.

"You will get out," Remus pushed.

"I will get out," Tonks sighed.

"Okay," Remus said.

XXX

Thank you so much for reading.

TJ