36
LUPIN wondered if there had ever been a time in his life where he felt more nervous than he did standing in the backyard of Dora's childhood home than he did right now.
He had faced a number of Dark creatures, gone against Lord Voldemort once before during the Dark Lord's first rise to power, had taught over the last several weeks, James and Lily's son how to conjure a corporeal Patronus to ward off the Dementors, and yet, nothing could quite compare with the daunting task that lay ahead of him of meeting her parents.
It occurred to him he'd never met another witch's parents like this before. At least, not one that he was romantically interested in. The thought taunted him. All throughout the walk through the wizarding village in which her parents lived, the throng of Dora's parents' neighbors had begun to notice the two of them holding hands.
Snippets of hushed whispers and shocked chatter reached Lupin's wolfish hearing, causing his ears to perk up.
"That's Ted and Andromeda's daughter, isn't it?" A woman's voice murmured as she recognized the slender pink-haired woman in the scarred, tall stranger's tight grip.
"That's her all right, I'd recognize the hair anywhere," a man commented, sounding thoroughly shocked in disbelief.
"With a… with a…a werewolf," someone gasped, hushed.
Tonks felt her face drain of colors as the anger began to well within the pit of her churning stomach. Her parents' neighbors, these kind-enough folks that she had been raised among as a little girl, gawking at her behind her back, again. It was the same rage that kindled in her heart whenever they whispered in hushed voices about her abilities as a Metamorphmagus.
This time, however, it was not shame of the powers that burned deep within her, but pride, a fierce protectiveness for the man holding her hand. Just because of his status as a wolf. How dare they act as though the man that she knew herself to be in love with was something of which to be ashamed, just because of his condition.
Or, as he liked to call it, 'his wolf problem,' or on occasion, he'd told her that Harry's dad and Sirius used to call it his 'furry little problem,' which made Tonks laugh. Though laughing was the last thing she felt like doing. She let out a tired sigh and craned her neck up to look at Lupin out of the corner of her eye. She furrowed her thin eyebrows into a frown. She couldn't be sure, but was he…?
Was he smiling? Why on earth was he smiling right now? This puzzled her, and she was sure the shock and confusion must have been evident on her face as she gaped.
"I—I'm sorry," Tonks apologized in a low voice to Remus, her embarrassment at how her parents' neighbors were behaving as they wound their way through the old cobblestoned streets of the quaint, medieval-style village in which her parents lived, forced an unwanted blush to her face. Though she blinked when she saw Remus smile at her.
Lupin chuckled. "Do you really think I haven't heard those types of words before, Dora, from other people, in other places?" he questioned, almost daring to sound…amused. "Let's just say that people like me are, well…used to it by now. Their words don't bother me. They're fools, all of them."
He lightly brushed at her cheek as if to wipe away the redness. She smiled understandingly at Lupin, comforted by the Defense Against the Dark Art's Professor's quiet strength.
Tonks laughed into Lupin's ear as she paused to rest her head against his shoulder for a moment, rolling her eyes to herself as she noticed one of her mother's friends, the florist from the looks of her, stared at them in shock and ire.
Tonks snorted and only squeezed onto Lupin's hand that much tighter as she continued to lead the way, ignoring the flustered looks from her parents' neighbors until she stopped in front of a quaint but simple-looking little cottage.
The cottage looked as if it was straight out of a fairytale with a happy ending or a picture book for little kids. It looked like many things. It was rusty, old, and dusty, but rather welcoming. The whole house was made of dark red bricks. A tiny stove, two small wooden chairs, a circular table, a not-so-large mattress, and that was quite it, though Tonks knew Remus would see for himself the moment her dad let the two of them inside the house.
Hedges and vines and honeysuckles and so much more. A green gate with paint falling off was the door to the property. Then came a narrow dirt path, a tiny pond with lily pads, and a few ducks, maybe a frog or two. A two-meter hedge surrounded the property. Vines grew up the archway and the arched wooden door with brown planks. The grass was green and yellow, scorched by the hot, blazing sun in the summer. Two huge trees, one with red and orange leaves. One of the trees was hollow.
A family of squirrels lived there. Occasionally, a woodpecker or an owl would come to visit too. Life was plain here in her old childhood home, simple and quite hard.
But life was good and happy, too. Tonks could only hope that her parents would accept her partner, just as he was.
Ted and Andromeda Tonks were already waiting for their daughter on the front porch of their cottage as Dora squeezed Lupin's hand and led him through the front gate.
She smiled up at her parents, happy to see them both, though it did not escape her attention how her dad's eyes regarded Lupin, whose hand was entwined around his girl's.
He wondered at the obvious between the two of them. This was the first time Dora had ever brought a man home, but if he was good enough for his little girl, then Ted supposed he would be good enough for him and Meda, too. The middle-aged wizard could not help but return his daughter's grin.
It had been too long since she'd come back home for a visit, and he and his wife had missed her terribly. Dora gave Remus a loving nod as she wordlessly slipped out of his tight grasp and marched up the front steps of their porch and into the waiting arms of her parents.
"My baby girl," Ted proclaimed warmly as he and Meda held Dora close, sandwiched in between the two of them. "It's so good to see you. Are you going to stay a little while longer this time?"
"I hope so," Tonks exclaimed with a sense of relief, happy tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. It had been months since she'd last stopped by her old home to pay a visit to her parents.
Lupin remained unmoved by the steps of the Tonks' front porch. He would allow her parents time alone with their daughter.
He understood and respected their need for a reunion. If it had been one of his daughters who was being asked to apprehend one of their own family members who was a mass murderer and was constantly putting herself at risk and in harm's way, he would want his time with her, too.
So, he chose to remain standing quietly in the background, enjoying seeing Tonks's happiness right now.
"Your dad and I got your owl. Are you sure you're okay to do this?" Andromeda questioned, holding onto her daughter tighter. "We've been out of our minds with worry. What if he hurts you?" she lamented painfully, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to force away from the horrible image of what Black could possibly do to her.
"I'm well looked after, Mum, Sirius isn't going to hurt me, not with my partner by my side," Tonks murmured, relinquishing herself from her parents' ironclad grip. She smiled softly as she looked over her shoulder to where Remus stood patiently waiting.
Tonks was eager to introduce the man she loved to her doting parents, certain her mum and dad would be instantly fond of him.
"Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet my partner that Professor Dumbledore paired me alongside to help capture Black, this is Professor Remus Lupin. He teaches the Defense Against the Dark Arts position up at the school, and he's saved my life a few times."
She beamed and fell silent, waiting for her parents to respond.
Andromeda and Ted Tonks followed their daughter's line of sight where she was looking to the tall young man in his early thirties, looking quite pale and tired though pleasant enough, looking as respectable as he possibly could in a threadbare suit that looked darned at the hems and edges, but it was obvious that he was trying, as he nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It was clear their Dora cared for this man, this Lupin if judging by the way that they had been holding hands a second ago.
Ted moved to rest either of his hands-on Dora's shoulders, still supporting her, and regarded Remus in silence for a long moment.
"It seems then that Meda and I are in your debt, Professor," he said gratefully. "You've looked after our little girl, made sure she's stayed safe and out of trouble." He embraced Dora tighter.
Lupin inclined his head in Ted and Andromeda's direction, mindful of showing Nymphadora's parents the utmost respect.
"It was the only thing that I could do, Mr. Tonks," he confessed in earnest. "I made the Headmaster a promise, sir."
Andromeda and Ted collectively noticed how Lupin never once took his eyes off of their daughter, and how she seemed breathless in the werewolf's gaze. Oh, they'd known about her partnership with the wolf. Dumbledore was adamant about sending monthly correspondence to them when Tonks had failed.
Tonks's parents had heard rumors of how werewolves lived, those underneath Fenrir Greyback's ruling, at least. The word that trickled through the streets of Diagon and Knockturn Alley was that they were savage beasts, creatures of shadow who refused to show loyalty to anyone who wasn't a wolf-like them, and whose society was uncivilized and lawless, living deep within the woods.
Most of the wizarding world lived in fear of werewolves, as it was believed their conditions were contagious. For his part, Ted had never quite believed those myths, and neither did his Meda.
Especially considering the fact that Professor Dumbledore liked and respected one well enough to appoint in a highly responsible and sought after position within Hogwarts, as well as pair the man alongside their Dora to capture Sirius Black, then that was good enough for Tonks's parents, they quickly decided.
Tonks's parents were of a staunch and firm belief that these myths surrounding werewolves were based more on a sense of ignorant fear rather than the unfamiliar and actual truths, oh, yes.
And this young werewolf, in particular, seemed to have taken excellent care of their daughter, and in the end, that was all that mattered to Mr. and Mrs. Tonks. For a moment, they stood in thick, nervous silence, the tension so thick in the air you could have cut it with a butter knife. Mrs. Tonks broke the silence first.
"Dora, why don't you come inside and help me make some tea? Will the two of you be all right to chat on the porch a moment? Or you could move to the backyard if that's more to your liking," she offered. "We've plenty of shaded trees," she said, noticing how Lupin was squinting and having to shield his eyes to avoid the sun blinding him. "Go around back. We'll bring you both something to drink and a plate of cookies," she offered, and without giving Tonks a chance to respond, proceeded to grab Dora's arm and drag her up the front porch steps of their home.
Tonks glanced back over her shoulder once and shot Remus what she hoped was an encouraging smile, though she couldn't quite shake the feeling by the way her father was looking at Lupin that something felt, well…off. But she had no time to ponder it.
I'll be fine, Tonks mouthed silently to Remus when she noticed her partner open his mouth to protest, his brows furrowed together in a look of concern and slight terror at the thought of being left alone with just her father for company, and Meda closed the door behind her with a loud clang as it rattled in its rusty hinges.
Ted looked curiously at the now-closed door with interest.
In the time it had taken for Andromeda to tug their daughter up the steps of their porch and into the kitchen, Dora and this Lupin fellow had returned their gazes more than a couple of times.
Ted Tonks cleared his throat rather loudly, eliciting a startled response from the Hogwarts Professor as the poor man very nearly jumped out of his skin at this point, looking quite flustered.
He understood that this werewolf and his daughter had likely been intimate if judging by the sparkling glint in the man's light brown eyes and the way he tended to linger on her backside was any indication for Mr. Tonks to go off of.
However, for now, he wanted to give his daughter and this wolf some time spent away from one another, at least until he knew this Lupin fellow better.
"Follow me, son, we'll head around to the backyard. Plenty of shade there and it'll be much more comfortable for you, I think."
Ted barked his commands in a slightly clipped tone, diverting Remus's attention away from the front door, causing him to feel more than a little slightly perturbed as he bristled, staying put. He was not a man who was used to be told what to do by another.
Lupin forced himself to quickly shove down the annoyance that flared within his chest.
This was Dora's father, after all, he had to remind himself. He would have to learn to give the older wizard his accustomed authority and he was, like it or not, for now, a guest in their home, and he did not want to cause a rift between Dora and her parents by behaving in an uncouth, rude manner.
They walked in silence towards the backyard and Remus was relieved to see a pair of chairs had been set up underneath the shade of an old willow tree, its tendrils swaying lazily in the breeze.
Remus hung back and watched as Dora's father strode over to a small wooden side table, taking two pewter goblets and filling them with what looked to be suspiciously like red house-elvish-made wine when he took the cup offered to him from Ted's hand.
Lupin raised the goblet's rim to his lips and drank slowly, all the while watching Ted's movements as Mr. Tonks followed suit and took a seat in the chair, motioning for Remus to follow suit.
He got the impression that Dora's father was trying to seem ominous and an imposing authority figure, perhaps to warn him or size him up when it came to his intentions regarding his girl.
Remus supposed he couldn't blame the aging old wizard. Before lupin could open his mouth to speak, Dora's father broke the silence first. "I heard you and my daughter intend to confront her cousin tomorrow," he announced judgingly as Lupin took another sip of the elvish red-wine, the beverage burning his throat.
Remus very nearly choked on his wine. For once, it felt as though his calm and collected demeanor were failing him miserably. He studied Ted Tonks restlessly. How had he known?
Ted's father's lips curled upwards into a slight smirk.
"She wrote to us as much in a letter, asking if she could come home. I imagine her mother has much to say about this to her inside," he murmured darkly under his breath, briefly turning his gaze towards the backmost part of their house, no doubt wondering as to the nature of his wife and his daughter's conversation inside.
Ted was silent for a moment before he spoke again, raising his eyebrows and stroking his chin in a thoughtful, considerate way.
"I don't think it's not a secret that you're in love with my daughter, Mr. Lupin. My wife and I can see it, so please don't even think about trying to deny it, Professor, sir," he murmured softly, staring at Remus sitting next to him with a scrutinizing look.
Lupin nodded, thinking it would do him no good to lie anyways. "Since…since I first laid eyes on her," he admitted, feeling grateful at least, that his tone showcased his convictions.
And this much was truer, still. He'd been captivated by the bright young witch ever since he'd laid eyes on her that night in the Hogwarts Express's main compartment upfront by the driver.
"And when was this?" Ted's shoulders slumped forward as the older wizard allowed himself to relax, grateful they were at last finally getting to the heart of the matter he wished to discuss.
"The first night of the school term, sir," Lupin recounted quietly. He could sense that Ted Tonks was slowly warming up to him, which he was grateful for. His eyes went soft remembering the first time he had laid eyes on Nymphadora Tonks. He caught his breath. "She's the most beautiful woman I know, Mr. Tonks."
"Beautiful," Ted questioned, as though he doubted Remus's statement, to which Lupin shot him a rather pointed dark glare. "Not many have found my sweet daughter beautiful, Mr. Lupin. Save for that—that pompous arrogant Legilimens. I should have hexed him the moment he came into my Nymphadora's life."
The note of bitterness in the man's voice as he brought up Dora's ex-boyfriend was unmistakable, and Remus, ever the intuitive man that he was, decided a change in the conversation was in order.
"I love your daughter, Mr. Tonks. With all that I am, though I may not be much at all. I take it that in your—your letters exchanged between you and Dora, you know of my...ailment?"
He wildly gesticulated with his hands to his scars, feeling a scorching heat creep to his cheeks as Ted Tonks's gaze sobered. Lupin fought against the urge to look away, though dared not.
"Yes," Ted answered, waving away Lupin's words with a distant wave of his hand. "You strike me as a cautious man, Professor Lupin. I don't think I need to tell you to be careful, and my Dora knows better than to get involved in the life of someone whom she can't handle," he chuckled, a light twinkle forming in his eyes before he again turned serious and fixed Remus with an intense stare that the poor man wasn't quite sure what to make of. "Just don't wait too long to make an honest woman of my daughter, Mr. Lupin. You two seem quite content with one another, and I've only ever wanted my daughter to be happy."
"What…?" Remus started but trailed off when the meaning of Dora's father's words sunk in. In the silence that followed, the aging older wizard quirked an eyebrow at him, pursing his lips.
"Unless…marriage to my Dora isn't in your plans, sir?" he asked slowly, trying to gauge Remus's reactions as he spoke softly.
"I…I don't know, sir," Lupin murmured, almost to himself. "We…we've never really discussed it if I'm being honest, sir."
Ted Tonks nodded slowly in understanding. "Well. Don't worry too much about it. I imagine all of this with my Dora is new to you, considering…the challenging circumstances surrounding your life right now, with Sirius's pending re-capture again. Just keep it in mind if you intend to keep my daughter around, yes?"
Lupin nodded, his mind swimming as he sat in silence for a moment trying to collect his thoughts. He knew her father was right. He'd been essentially living with Tonks for months under the same roof, and ever since she'd begged him to stay the night with her, he'd felt, well…confused.
Happy, elated, yes, but painfully and horribly confused. After surviving the aftermath of their night in the Shrieking Shack together, Remus wasn't sure where to go next, what was the next step in their relationship.
Nymphadora Tonks treated him unlike anyone else ever had in his life. Sitting close to him, holding his hand whenever possible, resting her head on his shoulder, and she wasn't shy about stealing a kiss whenever she wanted, even if it was in the middle of walking in between the corridors, not caring if the students or staff saw.
Despite Lupin having never made any mention of it at all, she acted as he imagined a wife would around her husband.
But…if that were the case, then why did he feel a sudden pang of unease welling within his chest at the idea of Sirius confronting her this evening when they got back to the castle?
He was innocent, Remus was sure of this in the letter Padfoot and written, and yet… There was a horrible nagging feeling growing in his chest that he could no longer ignore, and it was a feeling he recognized.
The idea of allowing Tonks to confront Sirius alone, whether or not her friend and fellow werewolf Norah accompanied her, didn't sit well at all with Lupin.
"He's not going to rest until he speaks with us, but…I don't feel right in letting Dora go alone. Despite the fact that I think he's innocent, he might still be dangerous, and I don't think I can live with myself to put her in harm's way."
He wasn't even aware he'd spoken it out loud until Ted slowly swiveled his head towards the front, just in time to see Dora and Andromeda come out the back door that led onto their patio, Tonks carrying a heavily laden tray of teacups and a small plate of cookies in her hand.
"What are you going to do about it?" Ted said in a quiet voice, lowering his voice an octave to ensure only Remus could hear, as Dora's father looked on him with sympathy. "You don't have much time to figure it out, son," he murmured, sounding alarmed.
Lupin averted her father's gaze. His words were starting to scare him because he knew Ted Tonks was right.
Men like Sirius never gave up until they got their way, and even if Peter was the one behind the murders and Sirius was innocent, then there was still the chance that Dora would be put directly in harm's way anyways and Peter Pettigrew would be the one to hurt her instead.
He forced himself to swallow down hard past the lump in his throat as Tonks and Andromeda approached, smiling at the men. He did not want to show Dora just how frightened he was. For her, he had to be strong.
"I know what I need to do, Mr. Tonks. I promise, I won't let anything happen to your daughter," he said evenly, ensuring his voice remained quiet and calm as he spoke.
Ted slowly swiveled his head back around to meet his gaze.
"Which is?" he questioned, seeing the look of set determination and resolve on the man's heavily scarred face, not sure what to make of the sudden shift in the man's countenance. "What are you going to do to ensure my girl's safety, Mr. Lupin?"
Lupin turned to look at Ted Tonks and fixed the older wizard with a pointed stare as the man rose from his chair and murmured to Meda in a low voice to give the two of them a moment alone.
When he spoke to Ted, despite feeling Dora's questioning stare as her eyebrows knitted together with worry, Remus ensured his voice was low enough so that only Ted Tonks could hear him as the man put his hand on the small of his wife's back and walked away, giving their daughter and her partner their privacy to have a conversation that Remus knew was not at all bound to be pleasant.
"Not let her go."