113

After so many days of wretched gray skies and dreary drizzle, the weather, Merlin decided, had decided to send the sleepy little rural village in Wales the sun. Norah stretched out her arms as well as she could into the early spring morning, she always knew it would be a fine day when she couldn't feel the temperature of the air.

Outside had the sweet fragrance of freshly cut grass and the birds chattered in the trees. The sky was blue with just a few stratus clouds making their unhurried way toward the ocean. The sun was already a friendly ball of yellow above, promising more heat as the day progressed. All in all, Norah couldn't have asked for better weather.

Or better company, Ollie's teasing, a lilting voice inside her mind chimed up, earning a smirk from the light blonde wolf in return, though she knew he couldn't see it. She let out a tiny sigh, still feeling a minor twinge of uneasiness every time he made a move to hold her hand or wrap his arms around her waist and rest his chin on her right shoulder like he was doing to her right now, though Norah would be the first to admit that his embrace felt like heaven. Warm. Right. True.

Norah knew it would be difficult to allow herself to move past Wes and Jax, but she just didn't know how bloody difficult. Frankly, the young blonde witch and werewolf had no idea how she was going to pull this off.

She had mentioned to Tonks earlier in private, she thought it would be good for the five of them to take a visit to Hogwarts, now that the castle, even after two days, had been repaired. Dumbledore, along with the Hogwarts staff, those who had not been injured or killed during the Battle of Hogwarts, had not hesitated in making the necessary repairs and it would give Remus and Tonks the opportunity to slowly start moving some of their belongings into the castle to prepare to live there in a few more months come the start of term.

Remus and Tonks agreed without any hesitation on their parts. Though getting Ollie to agree to come with her on the other hand, was another matter entirely. Tonks had confessed to her this morning over breakfast when it was just the two women while Ollie was helping Remus on the other side of the house repair a leaky drainpipe, that Ollie was in no means eager to join the rest of society, considering his status as a former Obscurus, and what inevitably happened anytime someone saw the former Slytherin and man that came from a well-known family of Death Eaters.

The whispers and horrified stares behind the man's back. Norah could not say she blamed the man in that regard for his initial reluctance. Treatment that she was, considering what she was, all too used to by this point in her life at the ripe age of thirty, almost thirty-one in October.

She knew all too well what the fear, scorn, and ridicule were like, so how in Merlin's green earth could she possibly manage to convince the Legilimens and former Obscurus that he had nothing to fear by leaving the safety of the Lupins' cottage, let alone convince him to set foot in Hogwarts again, a place where if she had understood Tonks correctly this morning, that he was ridiculed, his only friends to come out of that school were herself and Charlie Weasley?

Norah furrowed her brows, tapping her chin in contemplative thought, feeling her frown as it deepened as she remembered who they're actually doing this for, and why, and more importantly, why she wanted Ollie to come with, and she knew how important it was to Remus and Tonks that the two of them work this out.

And she decided no matter what, not to take no from him for an answer, though she knew instantly the question was out of her mouth, what his answer would be, and Merlin de damned if she couldn't guess it.

"No, Norah," Ollie said instantly, vehemently protesting this idea.

Norah heaved a haggard sigh, pinching at the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. If they were going to try to make this 'thing' work with them, this new relationship, Ollie was going to have to trust her.

Though she could not stop the crushing sense of guilt that wracked her brain and pricked at her heartstrings, causing the muscle within her chest to skip a beat as she took notice of the fathomless anger in his eyes.

He was still furious with her for abandoning them the night she had viciously mauled Umbridge and turned her into a werewolf, just as she was.

They had not yet had that conversation, though she knew it was not going to be a conversation she was going to particularly enjoy. Norah blinked and shook her head to clear her mind, wanting to put thoughts of that moment out of her mind, for now, focusing on trying to convince him.

Here we fucking go again, she thought darkly, biting the wall of her cheek, not even caring if Ollie heard her thoughts at this point.

"But you have to come tomorrow," Norah protested, biting down on her bottom lip, and resisting the urge to stomp her injured leg in frustration. "Your friends," she snapped, pointing a shaking finger back towards the back porch of Remus and Tonks' simple home, "are moving into Hogwarts tomorrow, Ollie. I promised them I would help them move their stuff and they want you there. Besides, I'm in no condition to do any heavy lifting, even with my wand. And I don't want you here by yourself. You can't spend it alone. You would really miss the opportunity to walk through the doors of Hogwarts again, this time as a free man?" Norah growled angrily.

Ollie let out a noise from the back of his throat that sounded like a groan of exasperation as he raked his fingers through his hair. "I told you before, Norah," he muttered kindly but firm, a hint of steel in his tone. "I don't mind staying. I enjoy it here. I like the peace and quiet. You and I are more than happy to house sit for them while Dora and Remus are back at the school. Well, then my watch starts tomorrow. I don't need to leave this place to enjoy myself," Ollie responded, a muscle in his right eye twitching.

This time, Norah really did let out a slight wolfish growl of frustration from the back of her throat, knowing he'd try to get out of this by saying something like this.

She huffed in frustration, feeling grateful at least, that she'd thought to probe Tonks for more information on Ollie.

"That's not the fucking point, Ollie," Norah snapped, refusing to give in to the man's point. "They're your friends, Brennan. You can't just leave them! This is one of the third biggest moments of their lives! We should be happy for them, that they're heading back to Hogwarts tomorrow, kid! You're a part of their family, Ol. Tonks told me they want us there, Ollie. Both of us. We have to go!"

She bit down on her bottom lip and glanced at Ollie out of the corner of her eye as she turned away slightly, noticing how the corners of the man's lips quirked upwards in a faint smile.

"That was nice of her to say. And I appreciate the two of them thinking about me. But I think you're forgetting something. We have to be realistic about this, Norah. My entire family, save for the women, were Death Eaters. They know my face. I know what will happen the second I step back into Hogwarts, Norah."

Norah inwardly screamed in frustration, resisting the urge to pull on tufts of her hair.

"But you aren't a Death Eater, Brennan! Whatever is going on in your mind, it won't happen! They're not going to laugh or mock you. If they do," she growled, the shadow of the She-Wolf crossing across her pale features. "They'll have me to deal with, Ollie. That won't happen this time, Ollie! The Dark Lord is dead, most of his followers have already been brought to trial for inquest! The teachers there, the professors! Dumbledore and McGonagall and Snape know who you are."

Sensing Ollie was not convinced, Norah lowered her voice an octave and cautiously approached, an arm held out in front of her to balance her equilibrium as she walked with a rather painful limp and would for a while.

She breathed out a sigh of relief as she felt Ollie's hand grip firmly around her forearm, ready to catch her if she stumbled yet again today. Norah let out a low grunt as he gently pulled her forward, catching the worst of her stumbling fall so that her hands splayed against his chest.

"I know who you are, Ollie. You're not…not like those others," Norah whispered hoarsely. "Whatever you think is going to happen, won't. No one is going to hurt you, Ollie. I'm not going to let it, and neither are Remus or Tonks. The staff won't let anything happen to you. Trust me."

"Norah…"

"No, Ollie!" Norah exploded, the last vestiges of her patience finally tested, and she did not know whether it was her annoyance with her new boyfriend of only two days since she had woken from her grueling recovery or not, but she was choosing to blatantly disregard Severus Snape's orders by staying bedridden at least for two weeks and going.

She was not about to miss seeing Remus and Tonks off to Hogwarts. Not for anything. Another pack of wild centaurs and Acromantula wasn't going to keep her away, and she would do whatever it took to get him to see sense, that Oliver James Brennan had better prove to her right here and now underneath the shade of the willow tree that he wasn't stupid or she'd—

Though her dark swirling vortex of thoughts was interrupted as Ollie gazed down at Norah's hand for a moment, before hesitantly reaching up to cover it with his own, bringing her bruised, purpled knuckles to his lips for a tender and chaste kiss, sending an electrical tingle down her spine.

"You shouldn't feel obligated to protect me from the rest of the world, Norah. You don't owe me anything. I'm the one who owes you." The pad of his thumb brushed lightly against her wrist, and Norah glanced down at it, finding it increasingly difficult to focus on what he was saying.

"Then come with us to Hogwarts tomorrow, and I'll call us even," Norah grinned softly with an impish little smile, flashing her sharp canines.

Ollie snorted, though the man returned her smile with one of his own but shook his head. "Nice try, Norah. But you and I are staying. You heard what Tonks and Remus told you a few days ago. You aren't even supposed to be up and walking around so soon after what you went through, Nor. I can't believe they even agreed to let you go with them."

He furrowed his brows into a frown, thinking the two of them still had to have what he knew would be an unpleasant conversation about her little disappearing act that night Norah had attacked Dolores Umbridge.

And yet, he could not bring himself to bring it up to Norah. Not yet. It was too soon, she was still healing, barely two days since Ollie had brought her back from the Battle of Hogwarts on the brink of death itself.

He gave his head a curt shake to clear it and shook his head no.

Norah suppressed a low wolfish growl forming deep in her chest, and this time, the werewolf really did seize on tufts of her short thick blonde pixie and tugged on her hair so hard the roots screamed in protest.

Who knew Tonks's best mate could be so fucking bloody stubborn? Norah heaved a heavy sigh and slumped her shoulders in defeat. All right, kid, she thought. YOU are the one who made me do this. "I'm not leaving you alone on your birthday, Brennan, so get it out of your mind right now."

The shock alone on the raven-haired blue-eyed Slytherin's face was worth it, his blue-green eyes wide in surprise and dawning horror. "How…" he stammered, earning a triumphant smirk from Norah as she folded her arms across her chest and smiled at Ollie. "How'd you know?"

Norah smiled at Ollie, hoping to ease the burden he carried on himself, and this time, instead of one of mischievousness, her smile was gentle. "Tonks told me," she chirped jovially, snorting at the look of ire growing in the man's brilliantly flashing bright blue eyes. "Please come."

Ollie had been about to open his mouth and violently protest her plea, firm in his resolve that the two of them, particularly her, were in no condition to go anywhere near Hogwarts in the morning, to hell with the fact that the castle had already been repaired, but the look in Norah's eyes warned him against it.

In fact, he was positive in the weeks of knowing the young blonde thirty-year-old werewolf he'd never seen such an expression etched on her pale face. A mix of sadness, hopefulness, and…something.

Something else that he could not quite name, an unreadable emotion that both enthralled and frightened him. The intensity of her icy gaze made him suddenly feel self-conscious. Ollie couldn't seem to tear his gaze away.

"All right," he heard himself saying in a voice that sounded resigned. "I'll go, then," he growled begrudgingly. "If only to see that smirk wiped off your face, Jameson," he joked, though when he lifted his chin to look at her, he was not prepared to drown in the She-Wolf's icy bright blue eyes.

Norah smiled and leaned in, so she was pressed against his hard but lean chest, hugging onto him as tightly as she dared, careful to be mindful of the wound at her ribcage and of course, her leg that still twinged a little.

"Thank you. You're making the right call by going, Ollie," she said, and her blue eyes drifted down and settled on the man's arm, or more specifically, the top of his hand, covered in angry little red scars, courtesy of his father.

Ollie felt his heart skip a beat as he moved to shrug the long sleeve of his black woolen sweater over his hand, but it was too late already. She had seen it. Norah did not immediately react. Did she know?

"How long?" Norah asked quietly, no semblance of joking or crudeness in her tone. Ollie pointed ignored the question and ducked his head in shame, not wanting to meet the blonde werewolf's piercing gaze.

She did not press Ollie for an answer, which surprised him a little. When she lifted her chin slightly and her gaze locked with Ollie's, he was surprised to see her bright pools of blue shimmering with unshed tears.

"You know," Norah whispered hoarsely. "Your heart's intentions show you where you're going and your physical scars, and mine," she murmured lifting up her wrists and showing him an equally red scar from where she had scratched and bitten herself during one of her transformations, "show us both where you've been," Norah murmured.

Ollie stilled, turning, perhaps for the first time, and really looked at her. At Norah Jameson's willowy frame. Her light makeup. Her cute little button nose. In her, he saw nothing but beauty and a lifetime of hurt. He nodded, feeling like his tongue was suddenly dry in his mouth, and there was a gag on his tongue preventing him from speaking further.

"Ollie?" Norah said his name gently, her slightly hoarse, husky voice barely above a whisper. Just the sound of his name on her tongue caused his heart to race erratically in his chest and throw itself against its cage.

Swallowing down hard, Ollie looked down only to accidentally brush his nose against hers. He knew Norah still struggled to come to terms with her feelings, both for him and to allow herself to enter into a new relationship since her husband's death, but he couldn't resist. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching.

Dear Merlin's Beard, he couldn't fight the thoughts going through him. Her very smell was flooding his senses. She smelled of pinewood, of eucalyptus, and wild lilac flowers.

He swore he saw his disbelieving, incredulous reflection in those bright pools of blue that were Norah Jameson's eyes, for only a moment before she closed them and wordlessly, without warning, pressed her lips against his in his first real kiss to a woman, completely caught off guard.

Ollie froze, his eyes wide and unblinking. He completely expected Norah to pull back, to recoil away from him and explain she had slipped, her equilibrium was still off as a result of her leg still in its wretched cast.

But that moment for him never came. The young blonde witch kissed him, tearing down the walls of denial he had formed around everything having to do with his insecurities stemming from his abuse, and of Norah's feelings for him, worried she didn't reciprocate what he felt.

The touch of her lips pressed against his sent a spiraling warmth through his body, instantly warming him and thawed out his initial shock.

Ollie almost didn't want to close his eyes, afraid this was another trick, that Norah would disappear again and vanish on them if he did. But something told the Legilimens to follow her example, so he closed his eyes.

The backyard of the Lupins' cottage and the area of space underneath the willow tree instantly faded to black with just her touch keeping him anchored in this newfound darkness, though the second he closed his eyes, it didn't let him see darkness, but colors of fondness.

He had no idea what the bloody hell he was doing, and Ollie was afraid it showed. He tried to kiss Norah back, but with inexperience, he knew not what to do next and it definitely showed. But Norah didn't seem to notice this little fact or care about it.

Sparks flew in every direction, and the world was slowly disappearing around the two of them, along with all of their worries, their troubles, and their problems. She made him feel like none of that mattered. It was a small yet warm kiss.

Ollie honestly never knew a kiss so innocent could be so intimate and electrifyingly numbing.

Her lips were moving in perfect sync, his hands feeling her waist; moving by instinct, he pulled her closer, the kiss deeper, more passionate. He felt her hands on the back of his neck play with the ends of his hair.

A smile grew on his face as it started to tickle, finally, they pulled apart. A terrible, horrible, yet wonderful ache blossomed in his chest and spread through his entire body, and he stifled the urge to groan in frustration, resisting the call of the wolf's aura that she gave off, thinking that though he wanted nothing more than to succumb to Norah, to bask in the heat that she gave off, they couldn't, as she was still healing and it was much too soon for this step in their new relationship, though he felt both hands wrap around her waist. His hold on her hips tightened, and he almost growled restraining himself, burying his head in her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Norah apologized, panting slightly from their kiss. "Did I…did I hurt you?" she whispered, biting down on her bottom lip in fear.

Ollie blinked owlishly at her, momentarily distracted and disoriented, and then he realized where they were. They were underneath an overly large willow tree in the backyard of Remus and Tonks's cottage in Wales.

And Norah was standing in front of him, her already pale face drained of color and looking rather pallid as she proceeded to stare at him with a concerned look that no other woman other than Tonks and his mother had ever given him, and for a moment, he relished in it. The fact that this celestial-like creature cared about him, even…loved him, as damaged as he was.

"No," he stammered, realizing she was waiting for his answer.

Norah fell silent for a moment, having to crane her neck upwards to stare into his burning blue eyes. Norah stared. She used to believe his glacier eyes were ice-cold, that they knew no warmth and never shared loved. That's what she used to believe, the first night in the Forbidden Forest she had met Ollie and had blown up at him for the reckless way he had attempted to defend Tonks from that herd of wild, rogue centaurs. Now she knew, the hottest fires always burned blue.

And this time, Norah couldn't look away from Ollie's gaze even if she wanted to. "Would…" she hesitated, biting on her bottom lip, and raising her brows at him, but only for a moment. "Would you let me do it again, Ollie?"

Ollie froze. Do what again? Kiss him? Prove to him for a second time that he wasn't dreaming? Whatever she wanted of him, he nodded.

"Yes."

Norah could have asked him to come up with a cure for her lycanthropy, and he would have said yes, even if it took his entire life. As soon as the last syllable left his lips, Norah smiled.

A tiny grin crept onto her features as she all but threw herself at him, as best she could, her lips crashing against his in a passionate kiss, her lips meeting his with fervor, and Ollie found himself interlocked in her sweet embrace.

The tender touch they shared made the yard around them disappear. There wasn't anything else in the world except the burning flame of their love, her ice met his fire. A beautiful dream and a chaotic nightmare, but he would not change anything about this moment for the world, as something about this feeling made Ollie feel like everything was going to be all right.


Death Eater Jack Brennan's cold blue eyes narrowed into mere slits, venting in unimaginable, fathomless torment intermingled with that of rage while he peered through the trees in the woods that bordered the edge of the Lupin's family cottage. His calloused fingers tightened further around the handle of his wand, currently tucked away inside his robe's sleeve.

He did not know how long he had been spying on his son and the blonde She-Wolf as the pair of them sat out on the back porch swing like this, and then had moved under the willow tree. An hour, maybe two, he didn't know, nor did Jack particularly care.

Meditating on this new development like death. Jack did not know what to make of it.

Thinking how his last surviving son after all these years finally a chance was had at redemption and was now throwing it away for her. A filthy, half-blood, disgusting werewolf, of all wretched creatures!

The former Death Eater considered himself an opportunist, in the end. No matter the end result, he would find a way to reap the benefits.

Though at the moment, he struggled to think about what benefits came of this new development. He let out a sigh of discontent as his fingernails raked down the bark of the tree, and Jack flinched, not even giving a damn if his fingers bled.

His youngest son Ollie was always seen as the black sheep within the Brennan family, but danger among the Dark Lord's ranks was always attractive and the inspired Death Eater knew Crouch had forced his youngest son to use this natural ability to his advantage.

So much promise. So much wasted potential. I should have flayed this weakness out of him when I had the chance, he thought, grinding his teeth in annoyance as he shook his head to clear it as he looked at the despicable image before him. Jack had been afraid of this the moment he had received word Ollie had escaped.

Since Ollie knew that Tonks was still alive, and now this accursed whelp of a blonde werewolf was in his youngest son's life, Jack, when he had probed into the boy's thoughts, had sensed a shift in his son's behavior and his mannerisms. Jack stifled a low growl forming in his throat, seeing every Merlin-damned bloody detail of this whether he wanted to or not.

Jack had always possessed a keen sense of sight, seeing almost every little detail, no matter how discreet. His eyes were those capable of counting the flaps of a hummingbird's wings, though the abhorrent sight before him caused Ollie's father to wish he never possessed such a gift.

Perhaps for the first time in his life, he wished his eyes were playing some kind of trick on him, making a sport of his mind, but even know, as he spied on the pair of them from behind the elm tree, he knew it wasn't.

Right here and now, no matter how hard he wished the blonde bitch would just keel over and die of a heart attack or a relapse of her wounds and leave his last-remaining son in peace, to make it all vanish, he couldn't.

Everything was bloody real. What Jack's eyes saw was definitely real.

Jack ran his tongue along the top wall of his teeth, furiously grinding his molars together, his lips parched dry at the sight of his youngest son, close off the gap of space from where the pair stood underneath the shade of an old willow tree blowing in the light April breeze and lowered his face to the She-Wolf's until their lips met.

He watched in revulsion as the blonde witch moved her arms to envelope her new lover's neck, returning the embrace. Jack Brennan swore he could feel the bewitching radiance of the wolf's white smile and the liveliness of her spirit and her heartbeats.

Jack could hardly believe his eyes. His son had almost become unrecognizable, and he knew it had nothing to do with his son's new appearance. The last time he had seen his son, Crouch had shaved off all the boy's hair in a final act of humiliation. His raven black hair had since grown back, and now short, though it was, stuck up in wild tufts of disarray, looking like it had a mind of its own as it was windswept.

For Oliver to behave in such a despicable way towards a half-blooded werewolf, looking so solemn and bowing his head towards this bitch. A werewolf! A filthy dog! For that was all surely that Oliver could have known of this woman. He knew they hadn't spent that much time together. No more than a few weeks at best and Jack could only look for so long before he began to feel sick.

Crouch had been wrong and seeing the sight before him hurt as hell.

His own son had become attached to the She-Wolf. If he were being honest with himself, Jack had never seen Oliver quite so happy as he was now, his cobalt blue eyes shining as bright as the sky above their heads.

The Death Eater watched, his gaze unabashed as his son cradled the accursed blonde wretch's head in her hands and he kissed her on the forehead and then moved his lips in to meet hers in a passionate embrace.

The werewolf was a threat to his son's ambition, unhinging Oliver by just a single bat of her heavily lidded lashes and a playful, flirtatious way of biting down on her bottom lip and wriggling her delicate eyebrows at him.

No matter how far the distance between the two young lovers and himself from his spot behind the old gnarled elm tree where he meditated like death over what to do over this new development, Jack Brennan could read their very lips and read the words pouring out of both their mouths. Jack stifled his growl of frustration, swallowing down the bitter acidic stomach bile that had crept up into his throat and had settled on his tongue, creating a warm feeling in his throat and chest.

He grimaced a little. He gritted his teeth, gnashing them together, snarling silently as he forced himself to turn his head away from them the second that he saw how Oliver had pulled the bitch close and pressed his lips to hers again for a second kiss. Hells, he thought viciously through gritted teeth.

I'll—I'll kill that rutting bitch and any little wolf cubs my son might sire with this little blonde witch.

Jack Brennan felt his eyes fling wide open, becoming wide and round with shock as he heard the whispered words of his son saying something to the fair-haired bitch, words of love and affirmation, things he never thought he would hear his son say, much less to a person not even human.

Against his better judgment, he looked. And immediately wished he hadn't. He was forced to watch and behold how Oliver held the blonde wolf against the trunk of the willow tree they sought refuge under for shade, and almost dug his teeth into the flesh of the girl's neck.

The Death Eater silently seethed, his nails bleeding now as they continuously scraped against the bark of the elm tree he hid behind, spying, as the girl responded to his son's surprisingly tender and featherlight touches by slanting her head to the right and deepening their kiss, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling his son down slightly to her short level, letting herself be consumed in his bastard son's insatiable lust for her just at the tip of his tongue.

Oliver's father gnashed his teeth together in anger, turning his head sharply away just as a cool wind crept against his heated skin, flushed red and high with a light pink blush from hot anger and ire.

Jack Brennan growled in frustration and forced his numbed feet to turn on the heel of his boots and skirted around the edge of the woods to make his way back around to the front of the small cottage to announce himself. The Death Eater knew his only surviving son better than anyone, and he knew all of Oliver's transgressions, perhaps even more than Tonks and this blonde girl.

If he kept a close eye enough on this bitch, this blonde werewolf, and made her more aware of the atrocities his son had committed, perhaps that would encourage the She-Wolf not only to leave his son alone in peace but also to sever all connections with Oliver and forget she ever knew the man.

Turning away at last from the disgusting display, Jack felt the tension in his shoulders steadily melt away and begin to leave him, glad at least, that things had escalated since his unexpected visit here two nights ago.

His mind felt like it was reeling as he strode towards the front of the house once he had reached the edge of the woods, confident he wouldn't be discovered by his son or the blonde lass. Not until he wanted to be seen.

Though as Jack Brennan stood in front of Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin and Remus Lupin's home, fully prepared to march up the wooden steps of their front porch and knock for a second time and fulfill the promise he made to his son's best friend the other night that he would be back, he stopped short and paused, his movements stilled and unmoving.

If he could get to Crouch at some point today and learn the truth of his motives, would that not serve him better than to just let this all go free?

For if this She-Wolf was as valuable as Crouch Jr. suspected her to be, his inner thoughts still connected to Oliver's after so many years, and his one link to keeping an eye on his son when Jack himself could not, then why not….why not take the creature for himself?

A bitch and a dog though she was, the little blonde with the elfin-like spritely features really was quite a pretty little thing and Jack nodded his head in satisfaction, feeling a cruel smile begin to tug at the corners of his thin, wormy lips. He was, after all, former or not, a Death Eater bound to the path the Dark Lord had paved the way for men like himself and for Oliver as well.

And more to the point besides, if this She-Wolf, this Norah Jameson, who it was rumored by word of mouth from Crouch, the bitch was a hell of a fighter, would prove to be a valuable asset to his family once his current wife passed away. He would need another woman to warm his bed these lonely cold nights. She would not do to sire children with, of course, but she could be his bitch, in the literal sense of the word here.

If the witch could feel even a slight interest in Oliver, a young man far more volatile and much more monstrous than himself, then surely, she would take comfort and allow for a man like Jack to comfort her instead? He could provide a better life for her.

This was better than his initial plan of just dragging his son back home kicking and screaming if need be.

What better point to emphasize that the man was broken and that his future rested in the hands of his father than for Jack to be the one person that would take everything that he cared about away? The girl was a threat to Oliver's potential ambitions.

She was a complication, and Jack needed to remedy this 'furry little problem' of his son's before things could escalate any further than it had.

Jack Brennan drew in a breath of cool April air and walked up the front steps of the Lupins' cottage, raising his white-boned fist to the door and knocking. It was time to be reunited with his son after all these years.


Two days following the initial visit from Ollie's father on their front porch, Tonks could still not quite bring herself to tell her best mate he had visited. It was a decision she knew she would regret, given the man was due to arrive at any point in time today, though she was content to remain unmoved from her spot on their living room sofa, watching her baby's hair change from a light blond color to bright turquoise, entertaining Teddy and relishing in the baby's delighted coos at seeing his mum's nose change.

If she was being honest with herself, playing with Teddy, as much of the mother-son-bonding moment though it was, was mostly for her benefit to distract her from the news that Snape himself had delivered yesterday.

Mad-Eye was dead. Tonks flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think of her mentor's body unable to be recovered, swallowing down hard past the growing lump in her throat as she blinked back tears.

They had not been able to recover Moody's body, but Tonks still held out hope they would.

The man deserved to be buried alongside his family as he wanted. Tonks hoped that at some point, his body would turn up, though considering she and Remus (and hopefully Norah and Ollie, if her friend could convince her best mate to join them all tomorrow morning) were due to report to Hogwarts tomorrow to start moving their things into their designated living space so Remus would be ready to teach by September when the start of the term began, she doubted they'd find him.

The castle, with the help of the Hogwarts' staff as well as a team of magical architects had not hesitated in completing repairs to the castle. From what Severus told her when the Potions Master had dropped by in person to deliver the news and evidence of Moody's magical eye to Remus and Tonks of Moody's death, the castle was seemingly good as new.

Teddy's cooing broke Tonks out of thoughts of her old mentor, for which Tonks was grateful as it forced her mind to focus on her new son. She was not sure she was ready to come to terms with Moody's passing. Tonks blinked and glanced down at baby Teddy in her arms. The pig snout nose transformation was her son's favorite, though a knock at their door broke the proud new mother out of her moment, and both Remus and Tonks wearily looked up towards the door.

"Is that him, Dora? Oliver's father? Jack?" Lupin murmured darkly as he practically bolted from his spot where he had been sitting next to his wife, noticing the black shrouded figure standing in front of their door as he cautiously peered through their curtains to try to get a better look.

Tonks bit the wall of her cheek and ran her tongue along the top wall of her teeth and furrowed her brows into a frown as she shifted Teddy in her arms and gingerly rose from the couch to place their baby in the pram they had set up in the living room, where they had been fully intending to take baby Teddy for a brief stroll around their neighborhood in order to give Ollie and Norah some privacy.

Her best friend had rarely left the werewolf's side once, and she knew the two of them were currently sitting in the swing on their back porch, having moved from sitting underneath the willow tree.

She stifled a light smirk, wondering if he'd snogged her yet. Tonks couldn't be sure, though she'd sworn she'd caught them at it a while ago, but Tonks knew every couple, especially new ones, were entitled to privacy, just as she and Remus were, though that didn't mean she wasn't going to let Ollie get away with not sharing the details later. Tonks had seen the look in Ollie's eyes, knowing he wanted to, though she knew Ollie carried himself with a code of dignity and honor, wanting to wait until Norah was fully healed.

She could get up and walk around, at least, which was an improvement over the last two days, though her gait was somewhat lame, and she walked with a limp, her burnt leg in a cast for at least three weeks.

"Yes. That's Jack, Rem," Tonks groaned, her gray eyes widening as she strode towards the door, feeling the fingers of her wand hand twitch as she groped for the handle of her wand in her back jeans pocket, ready to blast Jack Brennan into oblivion, her code as an Auror be Merlin-damned, if the man so much as laid one hand on Norah or Ollie in anger if his temper swelled, which, judging by the look of rancor in the man's face, it would.

The moment Remus opened his mouth to protest, heading towards the front door, Tonks shot out an arm to stop her husband, giving the man a curt shake of her head. "Let me speak to him, Remus," she whispered urgently, careful to keep her voice low. "I know you could handle this, but you don't know Jack like I do, Rem. If it escalates, of course, I want you by my side, Remus, but for right now, the best thing you can do for me is look after our son and Ollie. I want you to stay in the kitchen with Teddy or go upstairs. Jack and I need to have a conversation, just the two of us, but if you could go and warn Ollie for me, I would greatly appreciate it. I—I didn't tell him that his father was coming."

She bit down her bottom lip in hesitation, breathing a heavy sigh of relief, feeling the tension leave her shoulders as her husband begrudgingly nodded his agreement, and scooped Teddy out of the pram.

Tonks waited to open the front door until she heard the back door of their cottage slide open and then gingerly shut behind as Remus stepped outside. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, Tonks closed her eyes.

Merlin give me strength for this, she pleaded, shooting a silent prayer to the heavens above and opening the door, finding herself for a second time face-to-face with a man that she hoped never to see again in her lifetime.

Jack Brennan glowered at Tonks through hardened eyes that had once been friendly and kind to her, in another life, though now they only brought the unfounded accusations that Tonks had ruined Ollie's life.

Their color only two days ago had reminded Tonks of the boughs of forest trees, a rich deep umber, mischievous and yet solemn at the same time. Though now, they were simply chilling. Every muscle in Jack's face was tense, and without a word, he communicated to Tonks intense distrust, anger, despising, hatred, for herself, and for that of his only surviving son.

Now he stood on their front porch, Tonks currently the only barrier between Jack Brennan and Ollie, glaring, seething, his father clenching his fists rhythmically, breathing heavily, as though fighting a losing battle.

Tonks let out a heaved sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, and reluctantly opened the door that much wider.

"Hello, Jack."

And against her better judgment, she opened the door further and stepped aside wordlessly, and allowed Jack Brennan inside their home.


A/N: Whew! A lot happened in this chapter. Happy for my new Nollie ship :D I like seeing my characters happy after such tragic lives. Excited to have Remus and Tonks return to Hogwarts! Not looking forward to Jack's confrontation with his son, but next chapter, you're in for a real treat as Tonks gives Ollie's father a real piece of her mind. Stay tuned!