30

THE strange itch that ruptured along her jaw hadn't dissipated since Maggie remembered losing control in Mrs. Longbottom's spare bedroom, though a burning rage coursed through what was left of her veins as the dark entity that possessed her took control, whipping haphazardly through the skies until the fortress came in sight. What she had been waiting for. Azkaban Prison.

Maggie let her rage course through her veins as she barreled in a zigzag path towards the prison, not hearing the startled shrieks of the other prisoners as she allowed the dark entity that was consuming her in anger to take control as she barreled straight through the brick walls of the fortress out in the middle of the sea meant to harbor the most dangerous of wizard society's criminals, though only one, in particular, she had come for.

Barty Crouch Jr.

The man's name spread like a deadly poison through her mind as she searched until finally, she found him. Maggie came to a screeching halt in front of the man's cell, letting the darkness die down.

She wanted to be sane for this. She had to be the one to kill him, not the creature that had taken her over. Her ragged breaths echoed against the dank cobblestoned of this wretched accursed place that her sister and Frank, Merlin bless their souls, had brought so many of Lord Voldemort's followers before this man had ruined their lives. Ruined her life.

Taken everything.

If witches could have breathed fire, she definitely could have mustered it without even the ability to practice.

Maggie limped with a sickening desire, her wounds from her unexpected duel with Snape still healing, clutching her arm still bound in its sling as her bones regrew back until she reached the end of the path. Finally, Maggie saw him against the rusting wall, sitting on the cobblestones with his hands chained and bound, and already glaring at Alice Longbottom's older sister with fierce anticipation as Maggie raised her wand.

Maggie wanted him to remember every last detail. She pointed her wand squarely in between Crouch's eyes, though not before pointing the tip of it at the lock and undoing the protective enchantment, effortlessly stepping in through the door and closing it behind her and re-locking it. No one was getting in here unless she permitted it.

Nothing could stop this from happening.

Nothing.

Crouch's leering tone broke the witch out of her swirl of dark thoughts.

"How kind of you to visit me, Prewitt," came Crouch's voice, devoid of fear, though his brown eyes widened in shock upon having his memories of his time with Maggie and Alice reinstated. Not even the blood and ash and soot that adorned Maggie's face evoked a cringe from him.

Of course, Maggie almost laughed to herself, if there was anything that Barty Crouch Jr. feared, it would almost be droll if Alice Longbottom's younger sister were on that list. She almost laughed to herself and kept her wand raised at his chest.

"I had a feeling you would come, Mags. I always knew the wind would blow you back to me one day," Barty breathed in an awestruck voice, looking at Alice's younger sister that was a spitting likeness of her in more ways than one. "I knew it was you."

At his words, Maggie could feel her tears make way, clearing a path through the blood and soot in her face as Crouch Jr. half-smiled at the expression in her eyes, the murderous look on her face as she glared.

"You know what this is like, Mags, don't you? You know how it feels to torture someone, love."

Her lips trembled at his words. Barty sneered and took that as his moment to continue speaking.

"It's never about settling scores, darling. It's about the fun of it, about our personal entertainment. The pleasure of causing pain, hearing the screams, no matter how innocent or guilty the other person is, that's all that matters. In my world, you're my broken version of your own sweet sister." Barty Crouch Jr. enjoyed the last emphasis on his own three last words. "My little ALICE!" he roared, spit flying from his lips.

The pressure in Maggie Prewitt's head exploded along with a blood-curdling scream and a gash on her father's neck as she used Severus Snape's own 'Sectumsempra' Curse against Crouch without her even having to utter the spell.

She dove at Crouch the moment the slit appeared upon his neck and blood flowed, that sweet, precious life force, tackling Crouch to the ground of his cell, beating onto the man's chest with her fists, tossing aside her wand, with such a raging passion that made her own pupils shrink.

As if she were watching the memories roll within her mind from Dumbledore's Pensieve, they began to play in rapid succession. The children that ganged up on her when she was little, big sister Alice coming to her rescue, like always. Their sweet and kind parents, sunsets, meeting Crouch during their third year at school.

And Alice. Her sweet sister. Her life was ripped away from her far too soon by this bastard.

Now, death beating onto Barty Crouch Jr.'s chest into mush, it sounded as though Alice's very name was being screamed as her fists dove into the man's chest. Alice… Alice… Alice! Alice! When at once, her strength drained away, her blood-slimed fingers remained still as she fumbled in the pockets of her black leather jacket.

Her fingers were violently shaking so badly it was all she could do to hold her dagger steady. Maggie Prewitt hung her head, bathed in crimson and ash and soot, smelling like smoke from when she'd accidentally made Mrs. Longbottom's house explode the second she'd lost control.

Her shoulders began to heave in the release of her shit life's worth of anguish and pain the moment that her sweet sister and Frank had died, screaming the already aching throat and rapid, hot tears stinging and blurring her fading vision.

"Maggie?"

A hesitant voice reached her ears. Up ahead, in between the convulsive hitching of her breath that was indistinguishable between her own sobs and her laughter, Maggie looked over her shoulder to the cell's entrance.

Auror Dominic Brennan and Remus Lupin stood by, their faces aghast and spoiled at the immense psychological disturbance, staring at the very Dark demonic creature Maggie had made of herself. Her wide brimming eyes peered at the men between her dark bangs doused in blood, Crouch's blood, and her own sweat and her tears.

Barty Crouch Jr. laid on the muddied floor, the man's listless dead irises staring numbly at the cold stone of his cell in Azkaban Prison, his throat slit and a massive cavity in his chest from where Maggie had plunged her own hands into the man to try to rip out his wretched vile heart.

"Come with us, Maggie," Lupin breathed, his voice sounding hesitant and unsure as the man took a cautious step into the cell along with her, though he gave out a startled cry of shock and surprise as Maggie, before her strength and resolve could fail her, took the dagger she held in her shaking hands and plunged it into her chest.

"NO!" came the screams of both the Auror and the werewolf as the men rushed forward. Lupin's scream choked as a death rattle in his throat as he bounded forward on his heels to catch the young adult Obscurus as she collapsed.

Oh, gods, it's Alice, it's Alice all over again. It was a nightmare, Lupin felt frozen as his knees buckled and he slid to the floor, letting Maggie's head loll against the crook of his elbow in shock.

Her breaths sounded like a witch drowning, which, he guessed she was as she was choking on her own blood.

"Maggie," he cried, tears sliding down his pale cheeks. "I'm so sorry!"

Much to Lupin's horror, she was…smiling. Albeit through blood-stained teeth and a pained grimace, but there was no doubt about it. She was smiling, though it quickly morphed into a guttural, gurgling cough.

"Don't…be…it's…better… this way….Alice…see…Alice…Lupin…." Maggie's voice was as twisted and contorted as her face, but Lupin and Dominic could detect no sign of either. "All I've wanted…to see…my sister…again…"

Lupin's chest felt like it was about to explode.

"Maggie," he began and stopped. "Mags, if you just let me…we—we can take you to St. Mungo's, h-heal you…" he gasped out in a choked breath as he blinked back tears, thinking he couldn't stomach it to see yet another friend die.

"No…" Maggie convulsed with something, not laughter, but close to a sob. "I'm sorry about Alice. About…about everything, my—my friend."

Dominic's face remained expressionless as he knelt next to Remus. His shoulders shook, his fingers of his left-hand opening and closing, raw and scraped. His hand moved out, retreated, and then back out again, closing over Maggie's.

"Goddamn you, Prewitt," he growled through clenched teeth, blinking back tears of his own, barely holding it together.

Maggie had been something of a family friend to the Brennan family growing up and came by a few times a year to catch up. But not anymore. "I know…." Maggie's body shuddered with a racking, long sigh, settling back in Lupin's arms. "I know. I'm sorry. F—for everything…"

Outside, the night was growing darker. Dominic Brennan remained unmoving, barely breathing, holding on, waiting for his friend to draw in and let out her final death. Lupin held on even tighter to Alice's sister, tears streaming down his cheeks. The pair of wizards were almost unmoved when they received a Patronus from Mrs. Longbottom herself, informing the pair of them that Hogwarts was under attack by Bellatrix Lestrange and a few other Death Eaters.

Lupin's first instinct was to immediately Disapparate towards the castle grounds considering the enchantment had been temporarily lifted by Snape himself to allow for any extra wands who wished to lend a helping hand. His first thought was on protecting Dora.

But Maggie needed him more right now.

Tonks was an Auror. His wife could fend for herself and be alright a little while without him.

A glimmer of light fell over the stone fortress in the middle of the sea, reflecting in Maggie's darkened eyes. She almost smiled at Remus, as though silently forgiving him all those years ago for not having been fast enough to save her older sister…and tonight, it had been her.

Then, Maggie Prewitt let out a long, tired sigh, turned her face to Remus's right shoulder, and quietly, softly, easily, painlessly, after all her years of suffering and hard life, the witch died.

THE wind calmly tousled the Auror's light ash brown hair off her forehead as she rested on top of the stone bench in Hogwarts' courtyard, her cheek resting in her right fist, tears silently streaming down her cheeks, though the only occasional sound she would make as Lupin cautiously approached his wife, growing more nervous with each step was the occasional sniffle and she would reach up at wipe at the tip of her nose with the edge of the sleeve of her black robes.

Remus had arrived just in time to see Snape and the group who'd managed to walk through the Vanishing Cabinet set Hagrid's hut on fire. Hagrid and Professor Flitwick were still attempting to put it out while Fang barked at the flames.

Ollie, Merlin bless that man, had managed to protect Tonks and Mrs. Weasley and several others during the skirmish that had led them out into the grounds, though would need to spend a little time in the Hospital Wing alongside Bill, who suffered a nasty gash to the head when Bellatrix had caused a parapet to explode, which gave another werewolf, a former follower of his now-dead Alpha, Greyback, the perfect opportunity to bite Bill while he was distracted.

Bill would never be a full werewolf, though he would most assuredly have a few wolfish characteristics from now on.

An increased appetite, both physically and sexually (not that his fiancée Fleur would be complaining in that regard) and perhaps mood swings near the full moon, but other than that, he'd not be a full wolf. This had once again incited doubt in Remus's mind at what he had done, the damage he had inflicted on Dora's life by marrying Tonks.

The two had argued following Remus shooting Dora a silent look that she had not mistaken, and this had caused her feelings to erupt and boil over to the surface in the Hospital Wing in front of everyone. She'd stalked off angrily, leaving him flustered, angry, and hurt.

And now, here he stood, watching Tonks.

He stood there silently watching for what felt like hours, when in reality it had only been about maybe fifteen minutes, at best. He wouldn't lie, he told himself, he was nervous around her.

Lupin watched her sit morosely on the stone bench, alone. He wanted so badly to hold her, to touch her, at least to tell her that he would protect her… but his pride wasn't allowing him to say it. How could he possibly say that to his own wife when he'd not even arrived in time to protect her from the siege?

Bella and the others had gotten away with Snape, and though she and he knew the truth, it didn't make it any less painful to have to conceal the truth from the rest of the Order.

He questioned after how he had dismissed her moments ago in the Hospital Wing in a moment of anger and self-hatred at not having gotten here in time, shoving aside his own personal feelings for this celestial-like creature now sitting in front of him.

Whether or not Tonks would mind if Remus DID hold her, and whether or not a wretched werewolf like him even had the slightest chance of making amends and having a young wife like Tonks in his life.

He closed his eyes as the thoughts entered his restless mind, and his thoughts then switched to things of the past, things he would have rather forgotten and left behind a long time ago. All their fighting.

Seeing the heartbreak brimming in Dora's eyes after he had kissed her the once on top of the rooftop outside of that Death Eater's home, and then immediately started to pull away. Marrying her in secret just to get her away from Barty.

Too many emotions were waging war in his mind, filling up the wizard and werewolf by the second as time slowly passed, and Remus didn't know how long he'd be able to last without breaking.

He looked towards his partner again, praying that the expression she showed on her face when she turned around to face him would calm him, but no such luck was coming to him today.

Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin was feeling more stressed than usual. He could tell as he nervously stood behind her, coughing once to clear his throat to announce his presence, how she remained still and unmoved, almost like an exquisite marble statue. Sometimes, when Dora got to thinking about everything wrong in her life; everything that had gone wrong, Remus rejecting her feelings, everything that she had sacrificed to try to make their relationship work, and everything now that she had to worry about in the near or distant future, she would feel lost, utterly overwhelmed.

Tonight was no different. Dumbledore was dead, murdered by Snape's hands, of all people, and though she and Remus knew the whole truth from the man's mouth, it did not make what was to come any easier. Harry Potter was in graver danger than ever before now, with the Headmaster gone. Harry and Hagrid had found the Hogwarts' Headmaster's lifeless body near the bottom of the Astronomy Tower, and to couple that fact, Tonks had publicly declared her romantic feelings for Lupin in the Hospital Wing just now, not seeming to care if anybody heard, or what was exchanged.

Ollie was hurt, though he'd recover soon enough in a week or two, his wife and kids staying in quarters arranged for them by McGonagall, who was now the acting Headmistress of Hogwarts, so Tonks wasn't worried about him. Between his family and Dom, his brother, Ollie would be well looked after, which just left her and Remus to worry about.

And now, both she and Remus were left feeling completely miserable for the rest of the night.

Not only had Dumbledore's life been stolen away so cruelly and unfairly, but in the end, they and the rest of the Order hadn't managed to save him, and Harry Potter was in more grave danger than ever now with Dumbledore gone.

Her Dark Mark throbbed, though now that the others knew the truth, Tonks wasn't going to bother with being summoned to the Dark Lord's side. Let him come for us, she thought bitterly. We'll go into hiding if we have to. I'll cover up this damned fucking mark with a kickass tat if I have to. Maybe a flower or a phoenix or something.

And now, here Tonks sat in the dark, looking up at the night sky and the stars that twinkled above overhead, consumed by her thoughts. The fact that Lupin had yet again shoved her away had got her thinking about where her life was going next and left her feeling extremely depressed.

She wasn't tired, but she didn't know what to do to occupy herself to take her mind off thoughts of him.

She supposed she could return home to her flat and watch the telly, her dad was Muggle-born and always fond of those cheesy old creature horror movies until she drifted off into uneasy sleep. But if Tonks was being honest with herself, she really just felt like sitting in the darkness and doing nothing, which is exactly what she planned on doing, until she heard Lupin sit beside her. Tonks barely glanced at Remus as he awkwardly looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Dora," Lupin began, not sure what to say, and feeling even more hesitant at seeing Tonks heavily frown. She slowly swiveled her head and her spiteful stare bore holes through Remus, who all but squirmed under her scrutiny.

"You should go home, Remus," she asserted flatly, turning her gaze away. Lupin felt his heart shatter at the sound of anger in Dora Lupin's otherwise quiet voice. "You shouldn't be out here."

"Neither should you, Dora. It's cold," Lupin murmured, reaching up a trembling hand to brush away a lock of her light ash hair back behind her ear, but flinched as Tonks shirked away from his touch. "I can't go back home with my wife, sweetheart. Will you listen to me?" he pressed, unable to keep the note of desperation from seeping into the surface of his quiet voice.

"Why should I, Remus?" Tonks snapped, narrowing her eyes, and turning to look her partner in the Order in his pleading eyes. A wave of cold anger slowly overtook Tonks's hurt, and it was almost too much to bear. Remus had to resist dropping to his knees in front of her, just short of groveling at her feet, begging forgiveness.

Cruel sobs welled within her chest. She swallowed hard, forcing them back down, refusing to allow her own husband to see her cry.

"You could have not gone. I'm your wife, aren't I? You could have stayed by my side, goddamn it, but you didn't. You chose to go after Greyback instead. I get it now," Tonks answered flatly. "You don't love me, Rem. Maybe…maybe you never have. Not in the way I had hoped. Our—our marriage, the night you married me using Polyjuice Potion, was that all a sham to you or was any of it real? Do you really even love me, Rem?"

Lupin felt his own tears well behind his eyes. He could feel the doubt and heartache in his partner's murmur, and he didn't know what to say or do in order to make Tonks feel any better.

Remus looked painfully at Dora, and he could see the shadow of agony under which she, like him, had lived for the last few weeks as Remus had pushed himself away from her during their undercover missions, cutting himself off.

The dark prominent purple bags underneath her lids suggested she wasn't sleeping, she was thinner than usual, her cheekbones sunken in and slightly emaciated from malnutrition.

"Dora…" he hesitated. "That isn't true, and you know it. What happened back there," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, referring to her little public outburst in the Hospital Wing upon seeing Fleur declare her love for Bill, and Fleur and Mrs. Weasley coming to a mutual understanding and respect when it came to her eldest son, "You were right to be angry, you have every right to not want to see me again. But don't stand there and tell me that I don't love you because we both know that's not true, but… as much as I want it too, we—we shouldn't. I'm too old, too poor for you, and I don't trust myself not to hurt you, Tonks," Lupin said, ashamed. "I've put your life in grave danger just by marrying you."

Tonks considered his words, unmoved for a moment. When she spoke, her tone was much more subdued but even flatter.

"Don't insult my intelligence, Remus, if you wanted to do that, you'd have never gotten involved with me in the first fucking place, Rem," she spat, her tone laced to the brim with a horrible bitterness. "What are you so afraid of? That you would bite me? You won't! I'm more than capable of making the Wolfsbane Potion for you every month. Is that it?"

"What do you want from me?" Lupin asked, his words pouring out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "How many close calls have we had, Dora? You have no idea how dangerous I am…"

"Everyone I've ever cared for has either died or left me!" Tonks shouted, losing the last bit of composure she had as it pertained to Remus, and Lupin was wounded when she reached out and physically shoved him.

It hurt, not in a physical sense, but emotionally. It cut him more deeply than anything else she'd done.

But Tonks looked like she was past the point of caring.

"Everyone…fucking except for you, until now. And don't even try to tell me that I would be safer with someone else, because the truth is, I would just be more scared. You don't want me, you never have, Remus! You made it perfectly clear back there in the Hospital Wing where your heart is, and it's not with me! It was never with me, Remus! Our marriage was all a lie to you!" Tonks shouted, her voice cracking and trailing off slowly.

At that, Lupin lost his battle to stop the flowing of his tears. Before Remus could even think about opening his mouth to protest, Tonks made her final declaration, needing her partner to hear this.

"I don't want to argue about what happened," she growled. She turned an icy cold glower towards him. Tonks took a moment's breath and steadied herself, wanting to give the appropriate emphasis to her words. Then her pale grey-blue irises turned steely, narrowing to daggers as she fixed Remus Lupin with a hard glower. "You should understand, Remus, that if you want me, then you have me. Keep me, if that's what you want, but don't run away from your own wife, your own family, Remus. It's stupid, scummy, and fucking cowardly, and not at all Gryffindor-like of you. Don't run. Not anymore." Tonks's tone left nothing to be misinterpreted. "I…" She paused, considering her choice of words. "Six months."

Lupin blinked rapidly to fight against the onslaught of fresh tears. "What?" he demanded, feeling certain he had misheard her.

"I'm giving you six months to do…whatever it is that you need to do in order to get over yourself, Remus," Tonks snapped.

His jaw tightened and he found himself narrowing his own gaze. "Dora, I don't believe this. Are you really giving me an ultimatum? Isn't that a little bit childish?" he snapped back angrily.

Tonks huffed in frustration and rose from the bench, suddenly wanting to put some distance between herself and her partner. She stomped her foot in frustration and folded her arms across her chest, momentarily looking away from Remus a second.

When she turned back around to meet his gaze, Lupin flinched. She looked almost completely unperturbed, and Lupin hated that he couldn't guess the mood by the color of her hair.

"What's 'childish', Remus, is you running away from me. Time and time again, and I can't take it anymore, Lupin. Merlin, but when are you going to get it through your head that we love each other? That we married, even if it was under unusual circumstances. And it wasn't childish. I'm trying to threaten you," Tonks snapped coldly, narrowing her gaze. "Is it working, Remus?"

He pursed his lips, making a quick scan of his partner, hoping that his eyes conveyed none of the emotions he currently felt, though it wasn't enough to stop the surge of hope from welling within the confines of his scarred chest as he looked at Nymphadora.

"What happens to us if I…if I don't comply?" he said.

Tonks met his gaze, her icy eyes now rivaling the finest steel.

"Then I'll make you," she answered, shrugging her shoulders.

Remus couldn't be sure, but he swore he saw a hint of a ghost of a smile flit across her face as her thin lips briefly twitched. His heart broke at her words, but Merlin forbid he'd ever let Dora know that.

She was the reason why he had sought her out. Whatever Lupin had been about to say next to Tonks died upon his tongue as he felt his breaths catch in his throat at her words. He stood there, slightly shellshocked and more than a little bit nervous at hearing his partner talk like this but tried not to show either.

"And…what does that mean, Dora?" Remus prodded gently.

Tonks furrowed her eyebrows as she stepped closer, her scent of whatever shampoo she used in her hair that smelled like apples and autumn assaulting his wolfish senses like a glorious tidal wave. Intoxicating, just like her.

Remus had to resist reaching up and winding his hands around her slender waist, or burying his nose in his hair, though he swore he felt his nostrils flare in agitation as he resisted the temptation of this lovely siren's call.

"Stop with the fucking bullshit, Remus. This feigned ignorance doesn't suit you at all. You're a horrible liar. You know what I mean. We both love each other," she whispered, her voice now faint and subdued as she closed off the gap of space between the two of them. "For some stupid inane reason, you think that by pushing yourself away is making a proper judgment call on our relationship, which is just an excuse for you because you're afraid to look back because you think you'll hurt me. Well, guess what, Remus? If you're willing, I'm willing to take that risk. There's…there's no one I'd rather take that risk with than you."

Lupin suddenly began to feel his emotions physically taking effect. His chest hurt like hell from the heartbreak, his fists clenched in his anger, and his brown eyes burned from the sadness.

And he had no idea what to do or what to say to Tonks. Tonks pressed on, either obliviously unaware of how much her words were having a profound effect on him or ignoring it.

"You think that me being involved with a werewolf will ostracize me and put me in more danger than I already am," she continued, putting her hands on her hips, and turning around to face Remus fully. "Well, guess what, Remus? It's bloody ridiculous. We're in danger every day of our lives just by being in the Order, and even more so now that Dumbledore's gone." Her voice cracked and wavered at the utterance of the last word, though she swallowed a lump in her throat and continued, blinking back a fresh wave of briny tears. "All of these things that have happened to you over the last few months, it's made you feel helpless, Remus. You chose to push me away, to refuse to enter into a relationship with me so you can feel like you at least have control over this one thing in your life, Remus, yeah?"

Lupin flinched. When she put it that way, she did have a point, as loath as he was to admit it to himself. Tonks let out a sigh. "And what happens if I don't get over it, Dora?" he questioned, unable to quell his curiosity. "What happens then?"

"Oh, I don't know what I'll do. Something to rile you up," Tonks snorted, and he couldn't be sure, but he swore he heard a slight teasing lilt to her voice as she looked at him inquisitively. "Maybe I'll go see skinny dipping in the Black Lake. Some handsome, young male Auror will see and decide to join me, then. Ollie would probably go with me if I asked him," she said.

She grinned, unable to help herself, upon hearing the low rumbling wolfish growl that erupted involuntarily from his chest.

"Oh, dear. Look at that. The wolf is jealous. Moony doesn't like it, does he?" she teased, biting down on her bottom lip in a somewhat teasing and flirtatious manner, though she quickly fell serious when she realized how solemn Remus was becoming now.

"Six months. Can I…will you take me back? Can I come back home, sweetheart? Please?" Lupin whispered, trying to hear the sound of his own voice over the sound of the wolf within him snarling inside of his head at the thought of anyone else seeing his partner, his wife, his mate, in the Order naked.

Tonks paused for a moment, considering the nature of Lupin's request. She nodded with a sad smile before leaning up and kissing his cheek, pulling apart, shaking her head in disappointment the moment that she felt Remus tense at her kiss.

"Yes." Her gaze softened, though just as quickly as it had, it tensed, and her eyes once more turned steely, rivaling the polished suits of metal the knight statutes scattered throughout the Great Hall wore. "But I need to make you understand that now that you're back, if you pull this crap again, if you leave me…" Tonks's tone made Lupin involuntarily shiver as he waited with gritted teeth, her tone leaving nothing to be misinterpreted, "then I'll jinx you so hard that you'll wish you'd never been paired with me in the Order and you'll forget your own fucking name. But…if you want me, then keep me, like you mean to have me."

Lupin stared at her incredulously, hardly daring to believe it. She had…forgiven him, was giving him a second chance to prove himself. If there was ever a reason in which he so desperately wished to kiss her, truly kiss her, it was now.

Heat flooded through his limbs and engulfed his heart, and before he knew what was happening, his wolfish instincts were taking over, his arms winding around her waist the moment he stepped forward to close off the gap of space that Dora had put between herself and her partner. His arms around her waist tightened, refusing to relinquish his tight grip.

He was never going to make such a mistake again, not if he could help it.

"How is it that I never saw you, Dora?"

Given that her head was tucked underneath his chin and her head nestled against his heart, he felt her smile rather than saw it. Her hands found the nape of his neck, tickling with the ends of his hair.

"You did see me, Remus. But you didn't know where to place me. I know you loved me a while now, but I've wanted you to discover that for yourself," she whispered, pulling back to study his face. When Lupin did not immediately respond, she let out a sigh. "Hey, Professor, you're behaving like a dumbass for a man who's incredibly smart," she emphasized, using his former title of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. "Genius. This is the part where you're supposed to kiss me if you want to keep me around, Remus."

Lupin did not need to be told twice.

Tonks closed her eyes as something warm yet coarse pressed itself against her lips. Tonks fought against the urge to press back, knowing that right now, in his emotionally vulnerable state, it might be way too much. For now, forcing herself to relax and stay still was enough. Tonks had to remind herself to keep things slow, for both of them.

If she moved too quickly or too fast, she'd scare him off, but maybe a little pressure wasn't going to overwhelm him? Tonks breathed slowly through her nose, taking a deep breath, and returned the pressure on her lips. His kiss was steeped in a passion that ignited. The promise of realness, that things would be all right.

And with it, Lupin told Tonks that he was awake, connected within, that he embraced himself and their rekindled relationship. And that, Tonks supposed, was more than enough for her.

She melted into Lupin's kiss, and she couldn't be sure, but she swore her ears perked up at the sound of other people, was it Molly and Arthur and McGonagall, pointing, whispering, gushing happily, but Tonks couldn't manage to bring herself to care less.

It was back again as Lupin slanted her head to the side and deepened their kiss, that this sense of this was right, this was how things were supposed to be. The feeling she'd gotten right from the start, from day one of Dumbledore appointing Remus John Lupin as her partner in the Order of the Phoenix for an entire year's time.

Lupin broke apart, his lips curling upwards into a soft, genuine smile as his hand cupped her cheek.

"Your hair. It's back. The pink. I've missed the pink hair the most, Dora," he murmured, reaching up a hand and brushing a lock of her newly-rejuvenated bright bubblegum pink hair out of Dora's glistening grey-blue eyes.

She smiled, her fingertips slotting perfectly with Lupin's. "Me too," She murmured. "Don't kiss anybody else but me from now on, Remus, no matter the reason. As your wife, I order you to," she begged.

Tonks tried to sound firm, but her words were coming out more like a pitiful plea.

"Wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart," Lupin promised in earnest, his forehead pressed against Dora's so their breaths could mingle. Lupin smiled, thinking that their hands intertwined like this was a perfect fit, like puzzle pieces almost.

And then he knew he wanted to marry her.

Well. Marry her again for a second time, the right way, but this time, he would show up under the alter as himself. He would marry Tonks again, this time, not under false pretenses. And he couldn't wait. He made a mental note in the back of his mind to visit his father, Lyall, in another couple of days, but for now, just being around Dora was enough.

He didn't feel alone or unwanted anymore whenever he was around her, and he never would again. Remus had Tonks. Lupin would always have Tonks, and that was more than enough, as long as she remained by Remus's side.

Finally, everything felt right.