CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

Lupin could not help but notice as he draped Tonks's one good arm over his shoulder and slowly helped her walk back to their campsite how pale she looked.

She continuously kept casting uneasy glances towards her stomach and resting her hand on the flat of her stomach, which sent another surge of panic through his veins and a stab of terror pricked his heart.

"Dora? What is it? What's wrong?" Remus wondered out loud, sincerely hoping that something wasn't wrong with their baby. "Is it…is it our baby?"

"N-no," Tonks stammered hoarsely, and she lifted her chin and hesitated. "I…I feel sick," she whispered, biting down on her bottom lip in a light pout.

Tonks tossed her now-shoulder length wavy hair over her shoulders and out of her way. She shivered as beads of sweat began to form on her brow. "I…I haven't been…entirely truthful with you and Norah, Rem," Tonks confessed, ashamed.

Remus felt his eyes narrow in suspicion, wondering if his fiancée was finally about to confess the truth, that she had, in fact, eaten a few of those Bleeding Mulberries that Miss Jameson had warned her against eating.

He had suspected as much, upon seeing how pale she was and how hot and feverish her poor skin felt.

Though he wanted to hear the truth from her lips. Lupin guessed that Tonks had eaten a few of the berries before actually knowing what they were, and he almost shook his head in immense disappointment at Tonks's serious lack of judgment.

Surely, she would have gotten into her mind to perhaps ask Norah, who'd lived in the Forbidden Forest her entire life, if they were okay to eat?

The fact that Tonks hadn't was beyond Lupin's current ability to comprehend, though he supposed that, for the moment, he should just feel relieved that she was otherwise unharmed, and their baby was in no immediate danger, and he aimed to keep the two of them that way for the rest of their time here in the Forbidden Forest, if he had to tie her to his waist, he'd keep her safe.

Lupin let out an inaudible sigh through his nose as he looked into Dora's red-rimmed, feverish gray irises and waited for the young witch to spill the truth.

"Earlier, when I went further into the Forest and found those berries that I brought back, I…I might have eaten a few. I—I thought they were blackberries, Rem, and I'm not stupid, so please don't look at me like you think I am," Tonks begged, biting her bottom lip, taking note of the scrutinizing look Remus was currently giving her for her serious lack of judgment in not asking Norah if the berries were safe for consumption before deciding to eat them, not knowing if they would harm her or her baby. "I know berries, Remus. Those were blackberries, I know what I bloody saw!" she protested, curling her one good hand into a fist, and flexing her fingers. "I—the—the Forbidden Forest was playing another trick on me or something a—and made me think they were."

Remus nodded. That explanation he supposed he could accept. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd been led to believe over the span of a single evening in this cursed forest that it had ill intent towards humans who were not supposed to be within her borders.

He could not quite explain it, but this place felt…cursed. Evil. Dark. Wicked. Lupin blinked and shook his head to clear it, forcing a small, sarcastic laugh, though he knew it did not quite meet his smoldering eyes.

"Thank you for finally telling the truth, Dora…finally…" he growled darkly, though he reached out his free hand not draped over her arm as he supported her weight to help her walk to feel her moist forehead. "You've got a fever, Tonks, though something tells me that you already know that, don't you, sweetheart?" he sighed.

Remus looked away for a moment to compose himself and swallowed down hard past the growing lump in his throat that made it feel like it was hollowing and constricting air to his passageways.

He closed his eyes and focused on slowing his breathing, trying to force his temper to calm down, though at some point, he and Tonks were going to have a much-needed and serious discussion about what she had done tonight, and what had almost happened not just to her, but Ollie.

"I—I'm sorry I didn't bring it up sooner, Rem," Tonks whispered, frowning. No doubt she had seen the immense annoyance and agitation in Remus's light brown eyes, for she swallowed down hard and blinked back tears. "I—I thought that I could handle it…and well…I didn't exactly count on running into a small group of centaurs, and I—I didn't know what to do, Rem!"

Lupin sighed and glanced over at Tonks out of the corner of his eye and offered her what he hoped was a genuine smile. "You should have told me. I don't expect you to handle everything on your own, Dora. You're good, but no one, not even Professor Dumbledore, is that good. It was an honest mistake, and you not recognizing what those berries truly were could have happened to anyone, and especially to those of us who don't live in the forest like she does."

He watched Tonks flinch, and he knew his fiancée was thinking of Norah. How angry the young blonde She-Wolf had been.

Remus swallowed and continued, not liking how rapidly his temper was swelling, but nor could he let what was ruminating through his mind right now go unsaid.

Tonks, like it or not, needed to hear this. "The Forbidden Forest is known to get people confused. I don't know what kind of dark enchantments exist in these woods, but whatever it is, it's powerful. And you should have told me or Norah that you ate a few of the berries, Tonks. I—I wouldn't have thought any less of you for it if you had. And next time you see something suspicious, whether that's another centaur or a spider or Merlin knows what else lurks in this place, please, please let me know, Tonks. No matter what," he growled darkly. "You cannot face anything like this alone again."

Dora frowned, though she quickly nodded, gesturing to him that she understood. "I just…didn't want them to hurt you or Norah, Remus," she whispered hoarsely.

Lupin stared incredulously at Tonks. Was he really worth her life? He wasn't.

"And I don't want you to get hurt, Dora! Do you…do you have any idea what your life means? Now that you're pregnant. Running off like that, putting yourself at risk without telling me or Norah what happened? It was pretty stupid of you, Tonks."

Remus stared at his fiancée and felt the edges of his voice harden, and heard his tone become sterner as he glowered at her, narrowing his eyes until they were slits.

Lupin could sense Tonks's growing discomfort with the unpleasant turn their conversation was taking, and he did not especially like how Dora seemed to be attempting to make excuses for her behavior as if to somehow justify to herself that what she had done by attempting to be brave and not give up his location, was justified.

As much as Remus did not want to lose his temper with Dora, especially considering the immense amount of physical turmoil and mental anguish she had just suffered at the hands of those wretched centaurs, it seemed like this conversation was going to happen now, and Lupin swallowed hard, thinking that he would rather hurt Tonks's feelings than not say something at all and end up losing his future wife in the process.

"I don't want you running off on your own again, Dora. You will speak up and say something to one of us next time you spot another centaur, or anything else you think might be a danger to use while we're here trying to get Umbridge back," he snapped. "I don't think you realize just how serious a threat this is to you, Tonks."

"No, you don't understand, Remus!" Tonks frowned, blinking back briny tears, and not realizing that they had made it back to the campsite, nor was she aware that both Ollie and Norah's heads swiveled in their general direction, hearing her yell.

She blinked back tears and swallowed past the lump in her throat. Tonks had fully been expecting that Remus would be angry with her, and she had been expecting some form of wrath from him in regards to what had almost happened to her tonight, but it was certainly nothing that the two of them couldn't talk through, considering the second they stepped foot outside of this wretched Forbidden Forest, they were getting married here on Hogwarts soil. They were going to have to open up to one another.

Trust each other wholly and get through this together, come out stronger for it. All the while when Remus had helped Tonks walk back to the campsite, Tonks had barely been able to contain her racing heart as it thrummed erratically against her chest, or the beads of sweat gathering on her temple, no doubt from the fever the berries caused.

Still, she could tell that Lupin was angry. She could see that quite plain as day.

When they were walking back to the campsite, Remus had not spoken of his anger, but then again, he did not need to. Tonks, as his fiancée, liked to think she knew the man and werewolf well enough by this point to know when Lupin was very upset.

His light brown eyes had darkened slightly in their coloring, his irises red-rimmed, and he was swallowing hard and looking like he was practically blinking back his tears.

Lupin's eyes were filled with an immense sense of betrayal and anger towards her, and an antagonizing hurt as he regarded her silence, though recognizing she did not know what to say, let out a sigh and pinched at the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"You were wrong tonight, Tonks, not to call for help earlier. I needed to be involved in this. So did Norah," he added darkly, jerking his head back to where the young blonde She-Wolf sat perched on the log across from Ollie, shooting Tonks's former partner an immense look of distrust at the man's sudden arrival in the Forest every now and again, though sensing that Remus was growing angered, the young blonde witch heaved a heavy sigh and forced herself from her spot off of the log.

"Mr. Lupin, sir, why don't you, um, go get some rest. It's been a long night for all of us. The kid over there's agreed to take second watch. In fact…" Norah paused, her voice trailing off, and Tonks could tell that Norah still had plenty burning on the tip of her tongue that she wanted to say to Tonks, though Tonks felt her eyelids begin to droop, and perhaps Norah sensed that perhaps that conversation was best saved for another time, she sighed and pinched at her nose. "We should all be asleep. You should be asleep, Tonks," she said growled in a tone that matched her icy-blue glacier stare.

Tonks nodded her head, though before Remus could turn his back on her and walk towards the campfire, she felt her arm shoot out instinctively of its own accord and yank him back towards her, almost violently, and she shot out her other arm to steady him by his shoulders to prevent him from barreling backwards into her again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, before pressing her lips to his in a gentle kiss. She heard him sigh into the kiss, though she broke it off as she heard Norah clear her throat.

Tonks flinched and relinquished her grip on Remus's arm as he walked away, sensing the two women needed a moment, and he shook his head as Ollie shot her a concerned look with furrowed brows, half-rising from his spot on the log to walk over.

She could tell that Remus forgave her, though judging by the stone cold look the young blonde was giving her, her arms folded across her chest and one leg crossed over the other as the She-Wolf shrunk into her black leather jacket for warmth, that Norah Jameson, was not so quick to forgive, and Tonks shot Norah a furtive, guilty look.

"Y—you saved my life," Tonks stammered, not sure how else to begin. She stood rigidly, rooted to her spot near their camp's fire, trying to ignore Ollie's questioning stare and Remus's piercing, disappointed look that threatened to burn a hole in her skull.

She tried her best not shiver while waiting with gritted teeth for the blonde female werewolf to finally turn around and face her properly and say her piece.

She wanted this, whatever 'this' was shaping up to be, to be over with quickly, for her to receive whatever hateful, scornful words Norah Jameson wished her to accept, before retreating to that sweet blissful abyss that was hopefully going to be sweet sleep.

It was clear from the tension that was wrought on Norah's pale face and the hardened exterior that Norah was welly aware of what had transpired between Tonks and the centaurs, or would have, had Norah not shown up to help her and Ollie when she had.

Whether she felt disapproval towards Tonks and Ollie for what happened, she could not tell, but she suspected, judging by the way the woman's facial muscles tensed and a muscle in her jaw twitched, that she was equally ticked with both friends for their reckless behavior, but especially Tonks's.

Though Tonks's guilt at what she had done was gone the second she sat down on the log, after Norah pointed a slightly shaking finger towards the log and she swore she heard the werewolf let out a wolfish growl.

"Sit." Norah barked the command hoarsely, sounding utterly disconcerted. As Tonks moved and slowly approached Norah, the light from the campfire dimmed and waned, and Tonks could not stop the tremor of fear that ran down her back as she sat.

Tonks mutely sat on the log next to Remus, folding her hands in her lap, or as well as she could, given the arm that had been dislocated and mended by Remus now rested in a damned insufferable sling, for Merlin only knew how long she'd wear it.

Though Tonks had felt an overwhelming sense of guilt when Remus had walked her back to the campsite, it was gone by the time she sat down on the log, feeling Lupin's hand intertwine with hers, the other resting protectively over the flat of her stomach.

She had spent the duration of her walk justifying her actions well enough so that Norah, if the She-Wolf were to attempt to accuse Tonks of doing anything beyond the scope of what the young witch and Auror thought was logical, she'd be able to answer quickly enough and shut down any crap the werewolf would subject her to.

So far, however, Tonks mulled as she continued to stare at Norah Jameson, the young blonde still continuing her habit of restlessly pacing in front of the campfire, back and forth like an unruly Wolf, Norah had said very little, which surprised Tonks, really.

Norah gave Tonks a withering look of immense annoyance and irritation before turning her back on her and shoving her gloved hands in the pockets of her jacket.

She heard Norah huff in frustration as she slowly turned around and sat on the log next to Ollie, blankly and listlessly staring into the flickering yellow and orange flames of the fire, as though she could not see either of them looking at her, waited, watching.

After what felt like several minutes spent in an excruciatingly long silence, Norah finally lifted her chin to look Tonks in the eye, the irritably expression within still intact.

The young blonde looked exhausted, dark circles prominent underneath her eyes, and sallow-looking, as though she had not slept a wink when Tonks was on watch.

"I don't think I need to explain to you why your behavior was stupid," Norah spat.

Norah Jameson's voice sounded strangely soft, which in a weird way, put Tonks at ease. It gave the young blonde She-Wolf a tangible sense of vulnerability, which had otherwise been absent in the short time the two witches had been acquainted with one another. The She-Wolf lifted her chin and rested her cheek in her right fist, angered.

"Why didn't you wake me or Remus up?" Norah growled, her voice lowly, soft.

Tonks blinked owlishly at the young blonde, as the witch's scathing voice back her back to the painful and present unfortunate reality of her present dilemma at hand.

It was not exactly the question that she had been expecting, and she did not adequately know how to respond, much less what she would say to put Norah at ease.

Tonks swallowed nervously and looked towards the young blonde over the flickering flames of the campfire. She barely felt Remus's hand as it settled on her thigh, nor did she hear his whispered words of comfort.

The only thing she focused on was her. Tonks furrowed her brows as she felt the beginnings of a slight scowl form on her face.

"You saved my life tonight, Miss Jameson," she began hesitantly. "I—I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me and Remus. For Ollie," she added, nervously casting her gaze towards Ollie, who offered Tonks a small half-smile that caused the edges of his still cracked-and bleeding lips to turn up, though the gesture pained him, she could tell.

Tonks flinched and forced her attention to return back to Norah and she sighed. "You—you followed me and those centaurs into the Forest's path, and took down and faced four, fully-grown adult male centaurs all on your own."

She sighed and twirled a lock of her hair, having changed it to a dark burgundy color, wavy and shoulder-length, her natural hair for a change, at least its length and layers, and Tonks gulped as she looked towards the sword of Gryffindor, which still remained in Norah's possession, at the metal as it glinted and shone in the flickering flames from the fire as shadow and light danced an unending dance as long as the fire remained welly lit.

Tonks could sense that Norah was not satisfied with her answer, if judging by the low growl the blonde She-Wolf emanated from the back of her throat was any indication, and she swallowed down hard past the lump in her throat and continued.

"You did all of this tonight, just to save my life. You knew fighting centaurs without a wand probably wasn't going to bode well for you. You knew there was a chance those animals could kill you, but you fought to save my life anyways, Norah. I—I did the same thing that you did. I took the same risk by not telling them a word."

She heard the sudden sharp intake of the cold night air as Norah lifted her head and took a moment to process Tonks's words. Tonks clenched her jaw tightly shut as she fully expected the werewolf to yell at her for her foolishness, to ask her why she had done such a stupid and horrible thing.

"Norah, before you get angry," Tonks raised her hands in defense as she watched Norah slowly rise from her spot on the log. "Just—just please let me explain," she stammered, following in the other witch's footsteps, and standing. Tonks was hardly aware of Remus following her lead, a hand on her shoulder.

Tonks fully expected the werewolf to interrupt her, to yell at her, and refuse to let her speak, but Norah Jameson did not such thing. The young blonde woman's posture remained stiffened and rigid. Maybe she was willing to listen to Tonks's reasoning, then.

"I did the same as you!" Tonks protested hotly, biting down on her bottom lip. She breathed in a deep breath and continued. "I couldn't just let them come after you both!"

Her voice was practically shaking, as she knew anything that she said might anger the werewolf further and provoke her to past the point of no return right now.

"I did the same thing that you did, Norah. The exact same thing, the very same risk!"

Tonks barely heard the breathy little squeak that escaped from her lips as she heard the blonde She-Wolf let out a low warning growl and Norah stomped her foot in anger.

"No," Norah snarled savagely. "There is a huge difference from the risk that I took in saving your sorry little ass and what you did, Tonks. You were stupid tonight."

"Miss Jameson," Remus started to say, more than a hint of disapproval laced throughout his voice as Tonks felt Lupin's hand come to rest on top of her uninjured shoulder. "Don't you think this conversation can wait until the morning when she's had rest and is of better mind to talk with you?" Lupin retorted, anger dripping from his words, though his voice trailed off when he felt Tonks's hand rest on his upper thigh.

But Norah held up a hand and promptly cut Remus off from whatever he had been about to say next, actively averting Lupin's piercing stare and having eyes only for Tonks. "You weren't just risking your life and your little wolf cub's tonight, witch," she spat, unflinching as the venomous words dripped from her tongue like pure poison. "You were sacrificing it with no regard for how Lupin might feel if the wolf lost you. You have no idea what those centaurs are capable of, Tonks. The things that they would have done to you." Norah's words escaped from her lips as a low, wolfish growl.

Norah shook her head to clear at as visions of all the unspeakable and unimaginable horrors flitted through the forefront of her mind that Nymphadora Tonks had narrowly avoided becoming a victim of tonight by her showing up when she had.

"Norah, you—you have to listen to me," Tonks practically begged the young blonde werewolf, feeling her breaths becoming more frantic as Norah strode over to Tonks and yanked Dora to her feet so that the tip of her nose was almost touching hers.

The fact that Norah had lashed out at her just now was disconcerting and unsettling.

"Please, just—just let me explain! Just give me a chance to talk to you! I—I ran! I tried to lead the centaurs away from the campsite, and I hoped the Forbidden Forest would pull another one of its bloody tricks and help me to lose them. E—even if I got lost in the process, it would have been worth it if it meant you and Remus would be safe. I could have gotten away. They—they caught me before I could. It was a risk that I was willing to take, and you know what? It was worth the risk, Jameson. I'd do it all over again if given a second chance," Tonks retorted hotly, desperate to make the blonde werewolf hear and listen to her side of the argument. "I took the exact same risk that you did when you killed those centaurs. You didn't want me to get hurt, so you killed them. I didn't want either one of you to get hurt, so I led the beasts away. It's the same thing, isn't it?" Tonks let out a muffled squeak as Norah, without any kind of warning, shoving Tonks backward, her fingers pushing on her chest as she shoved her.

She heard Lupin let out a low warning growl and immediately stepped in front of Tonks, an arm out in front of her as though Remus thought it would prevent Tonks from further danger.

Currently, the only barrier standing between Tonks and the worst of Norah's wrath was Remus. Tonks swallowed nervously and looked toward Norah.

Ollie had moved off from his perch on the log and was gingerly tugging on Tonks's uninjured shoulder, murmuring something softly into the shell of Tonks's ear, but his voice was too low to make out whatever her best friend was trying to tell her.

"It's different from me, you idiot!" Norah bellowed, balling her hands into fists, ignoring the fact that Remus and Ollie exchanged an uneasy glance with one another. "We're not bloody arguing about this!" she screamed, her cobalt blue eyes darkening, almost cerulean in color the angrier she got.

Norah tugged on Lupin's arm, trying to shove past Remus but he wasn't budging, and she snarled and bared her sharp, pointed canines at Remus the moment the man set his hand firmly on her shoulder, keeping her rooted to her place and preventing the werewolf from taking another step towards Tonks.

Norah's normally soft German accent that was, up to this point during their short time of her and Tonks knowing one another, usually quiet, was now risen in volume, and Tonks winced as she could hear just how furious Norah Jameson was.

So ticked, in fact, that if she hadn't known it for herself, Tonks would have pitied anyone who dared contradict and challenge the young blonde woman's views at this point. Norah's eyes narrowed until they were practically mere slits and she continued.

"Next time you spot something, you've got to tell me or Remus or the kid," she snarled. "Immediately. It's not a matter of saving your pride or deciding whether to fight them off or lead them away. There's no fucking choice to be made!" Norah growled, ignoring the withering look that Lupin shot her for her choice of words.

Neither Remus nor Tonks had any time to react as Norah shot out an arm and ducked away from Lupin's surprisingly ironclad strength, no doubt courtesy of the Wolf within him, and shoved Tonks roughly forward, ignoring Tonks's pained gasp of pain.

Lupin shot out his arms and wrapped them around Norah's waist, practically grunting with the effort to keep the furious She-Wolf off of his fiancée in her anger.

Ollie, meanwhile, caught Tonks around the middle before she could fall completely to the ground. Tears pricked at the corner of Tonks's eyes as she blinked.

"Let go of me, Ollie!" she begged, biting down on her bottom lip, urging her best friend frantically, fresh tears spilling down her eyes at the thought of yet another friend in her life refusing to stand up for her. Ollie held onto Tonks in an inescapable grasp, in what was almost considered a hug, before pulling her backward, away from Remus and Norah. Ollie wrapped an arm around Tonks's shoulders and pulled Tonks closer.

Norah was continuing to rave and scream at Tonks during her fit of hysteria.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Guess what? That's the last favor you're gonna get from me, witch!" Norah screamed, almost beside herself with hysteria. "Next time you want to be saved, you'd better ask Merlin for favors, because next bloody time, you're on your own! Don't look to me to save your sorry ass a fourth time!"

Tonks shrunk down slightly at Norah's tone, exchanging a nervous glance with Remus. She dipped her head and offered a muffled apology. "Fine," she murmured.

She turned her head to the side as she felt a light tugging on her uninjured shoulder, and realized Ollie was trying to pull her away from Norah and Remus.

"I'm not gonna let her hurt you, T," Ollie promised soothingly, whispering it into the shell of Tonks's ear as Tonks allowed herself to be led away. "I know you can't understand Miss Jameson's actions right now, but she does care. In her own way. You need to give her space to deal with this. Let Lupin handle her. Remus can handle the werewolf."

There was a hardened edge to her best friend's voice that gave Tonks pause.

"You read her mind?" Tonks breathed, glancing at Ollie with wide, fearful eyes.

"Well, yeah," Ollie grumbled, sounding thoroughly put-off by Tonks's disgust at the natural-born Legillimens reading Norah's mind without her knowledge or consent.

Ollie glanced towards Tonks and shot her a furtive little wink. "She'd never dare admit it, but she thinks I'm cute," he snorted, rolling his eyes, and offering a sly smirk.

Tonks bristled, staring at Ollie incredulously. "Isn't that an invasion of privacy? She's five years older than you, Ol, you don't think she'd mind that she's older?!"

"So?" Ollie snapped, sounding put off. "Your Lupin is ten years older than you," he pointed out, clapping her arm, and continuing to steer her away from Norah.

Her best friend shot her a withering look that had Ollie the ability, would have turned her to stone. His attention was briefly drawn back towards Norah and Lupin as the pair of friends heard Norah let out a vicious-sounding growl of anger as she made a move towards Tonks and Ollie, and it wasn't until Lupin shot out an arm to restrain Norah that the young werewolf finally ceased her attempts to attack Tonks again.

"Get out of my way," Norah growled in an animalistic voice that did not sound like her own as she pushed past them and made her way towards the opposite end of their campsite.

Lupin shot Ollie and Tonks a questioning nod, and only followed after Norah when Ollie offered Remus the tiniest of curt nods, silently telling him to go.

Ollie scoffed, repressing the urge to roll his eyes, and turned back towards Tonks, furrowing his brows in a frown. "You good, T? You okay? Are you still hurting?"

Tonks nodded, exhaling slowly through her nose. "Yeah. I—I'm all right," she murmured, breathing out a shaking breath and then forcing a light laugh from her lips. "Just tired. And light-headed…and… embarrassed, Ollie. I—I shouldn't have done it."

"Don't worry about that," Ollie said, offering Tonks what he hoped was a genuine smile as he wrapped his arm tighter around Tonks's shoulders, casting a weary glance towards the spot where Norah and Remus stood conversing in low tones.

He pursed his lips into a thin line, and Tonks didn't even have to look to know that the Legillimens was reading her mind.

"Norah is the one who should feel shame, not you. She should not have behaved like that," he growled, shooting the wolf a withering look. "Did she hurt you? Can you move at all? Can you walk?" Ollie asked, looking at Tonks with no small semblance of worry in his glistening, bright, sky-blue eyes.

Tonks nodded.

"Okay. Good. I'm going to take you someplace where Norah won't see you, T. I think the wolf needs her space. Let your partner deal with him. If she sees you, it's just going to be a danger to both of you at this point. Let her cool off for a while, Tonks."

Tonks let out a tired sigh and hesitated, glancing back towards Remus and Norah. "I—I should go back," she murmured, twirling a curl of her shoulder-length hair in her fingers. "What if Remus can't control her, Ollie?"

Ollie shook his head no in response. "No, Tonks. You're all right now, T, as long as I'm by your side, but you're not going to be if you keep standing next to Jameson."

Ollie offered his best friend a grim stare and clucked his tongue in disappointment, gently tugging on Tonks's uninjured arm. "Come on. Nothing's going to be solved just yet anyway. Come. You should sleep, T. We've both had a long day. You need to rest."

Tonks nodded and reluctantly allowed her friend to lead her to an even patch of grass free of twigs and pebbles, where Ollie, using what little strength was left within him, used nonverbal magic to conjure a pair of blankets and pillows for the two of them.

As Tonks settled down, her gaze flitted next to Ollie, whose head was resting against the pillow, his blue eyes staring up at the forest canopy, and at the night stars.

"Thank you, Ollie. For everything. For saving me. And…for being you," she murmured sleepily. Ollie said something in response, but it was becoming harder and harder for Tonks to focus as her eyelids drooped, though she was surprised when Ollie closed off the gap of space and rested his head against her uninjured shoulder, sensing that Tonks needed the comfort right now, hoping that Lupin would harbor no ill will towards Tonks seeking comfort from Ollie if he were to discover the two like this.

"Mmm," he murmured lowly. "Love the hair, T. Lupin won't admit it, but he does too," Ollie confesses, reaching up a lock of Tonks's wavy hair and brushing it back over her shoulder. "Are you gonna keep it like this?"

Tonks nodded, not bothering to stifle her soft smile. "Yeah. It's time, Ol." She twirled a lock of her hair, "this is me. Who I really am."

Ollie nodded, though she could already see his lids beginning to droop.

From the weeks of barely getting any sleep, Tonks had expected this. As his head lolled onto her shoulder, his eyelids finally slipping closed; she smiled. The rest of him slowly leaned into her, the rest of his body going limp. Tonks could finally see him sleep. Without the complex workings of his conscious mind he looked so vulnerable and childlike, it took a few seconds to register that it was Ollie laying on her lap. His breaths were even and calming, the expression on his face no longer stressed and worried about her, but relaxed. His eyelids fluttered, but he was too out of it to notice.

Tonks tried to keep her eyes open, she really did. But it was hard, and the blankets and pillow Ollie had conjured was comfortable. Soon, that was all she was aware of.

The warmth of the blanket, the softness of the pillow beneath her head. Her eyes began to drift closed. She was blissfully unaware of what was going on around them.

Then, it was just her and her dreams.


Norah emanated a tense exhale through her nose as Remus relinquished his grip on Norah once Lupin sensed the young blonde woman was slowly but surely calming down. He staggered backward and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"You and I need to talk, Miss Jameson," Lupin growled angrily. "Now."

Norah nodded mutely, watching as Ollie continued to lead Tonks away to the other side of the campsite and out of view of Norah's line of sight and hearing for now.

She heaved a heavy sigh as Remus motioned for Norah to follow him, slightly away from the campsite, at the edge of its borders, so as to not wake up Tonks or Ollie.

Norah hadn't liked being so agitated and harsh with her words towards the young witch, but the Auror needed to understand that Norah was not going to tolerate Tonks's talent for trouble and her attempting to be the hero and continuing to get herself into one dangerous situation after another like she had done to herself tonight.

She was furious with Tonks, but she did not want to be. Tonks did not deserve to have her angry with her. Norah was at the very least, in her silent, seething anger, able to recognize that she was so pissed with Tonks because she'd felt so much unbridled fear and rage for the young pink-haired witch that she was offended that Tonks did not seem to hold high regard for her own well-being and safety, or for that of the little wolf cub growing inside of her as much as Norah and her mate, Remus clearly did.

Norah honestly hadn't thought much of the young witch when she'd stumbled across the young woman in the Forest, though she instantly developed a high regard for the girl the second she saw the Auror break Astelos's nose with her own bare fist.

And when she had saved their baby, she thought that was the end of it, and now that it wasn't, now that this witch and Remus Lupin were perhaps her only chance at getting out of this Forest and having a shot at living a semblance of a normal life if the two would talk to Minister Scrimgeour for her once the all rescued that pink-wearing bitch.

She bared her teeth and let out a lowly snarl, too low for Lupin to make out.

It still did not sit well with her that they were rescuing that old pink toad, that hag. After what Dolores Jane Umbridge had taken from Norah, the lives of her own family, her mate and their precious, sweet one-year-old son whose life had just started, Norah was content enough to let Astelos and the rest of his herd keep the old bitch.

Norah was not about to stand for Tonks or anybody else in this little company of theirs that they had formed continue to make choices that were so damned self-destructive. She couldn't.

Norah swallowed as she continued to follow Remus down the path, thinking that for a moment, when she had reached the mouth of the cave, that Tonks and her little cub within her belly may have been killed, that she was too late.

Tonks had been so still, so lifeless back there by the time Norah had gotten to her, and Norah did not think she would soon be able to forget the horrible, swooping sensation in her stomach, that sick feeling of dread that churned her stomach and crept down her spine that she had felt when she first Tonks and the kid looking utterly trashed.

Helpless. That cold, sinking feeling the witch would never draw in-breath again. That feeling was not one that Norah cherished, and she had not felt it since the day her husband and child were murdered in front of her very eyes by the bitch herself.

It was a terrible, crushing emotion, dread and fear were, wondering if Tonks, a young woman who had, in such a relatively short amount of time, proven herself capable and resilient, could possibly have much such a violent and gory end as that.

Norah wasn't angry with the vivacious young pink-haired witch for any other reason than the fact that Nymphadora Tonks had scared her and Lupin so much.

That was a fear that she never wanted to deal with ever again if she could help it.


A/N: So, there you have it, my lovely readers! Both Norah AND Remus are feeling incredibly conflicted over what's happened and the chapter with their conversation should be an interesting one for them to have. Norah's relieved that Tonks is for the most part going to be okay and Lupin was pleased to see that Tonks wasn't too upset for longer than a few minutes after their initial reunion of getting separated AGAIN, though I love how they continue to keep finding each other, they're magnets.

As for Norah, yeah, she might be coming across as kind of a jerk and insensitive here and there, but her fear for Tonks's sake was manifesting itself as anger since she was scared for her sake. Norah especially feels anger towards the centaurs for what they did, and anger in Tonks at not waking up her or Lupin or staying closer to the camp.

I think too she might even feel a little bit of guilt as she wonders if there was anything she could have done different to prevent what happened, considering she knows the centaurs, their methods, how they operate, how they think, given she's practically been forced to co-exist alongside the different herds in the Forest for years now.

Of course, she also feels doubt and fear in that she wonders if Tonks is able to fully comprehend just how much danger she was putting herself and her unborn child in, given once her initial shock wore off, she acted like she forgot it happened.

All of this aside, Norah is having trouble in learning just how to deal with these overwhelming mixes of emotions. Norah never anticipated or expected that she would grow to care so much about Remus and Tonks (but honestly, once you meet them, how could you not like them, I don't care who you are lol!), but now that she does, there's nothing quite as scary as caring about someone new in your life, especially when said person continues to put themselves in precarious positions like Tonks's talent for trouble does.

Coming up in Ch. 83, will Remus and Norah be able to come to a mutual understanding with one another? A difficult conversation to be had, but yet better than leaving all of these emotions pent up and left unsaid, for sure.