Never fall in love with a Werewolf

Chapter Seven- Vertiserum.

Remus stepped out of the shower, smelling like an aromatic mix of lavender and other herbs. Remus found looked in the mirror, his wet hair was sagging into his eyes, and he was wearing nothing - nothing but a soppy smile. He had long since gotten use to his scars on his body, he had come quite attached to them, even though they'd caused him so much pain through his life, he didn't mind.. They were a part of him, and made Remus who he was. As a teenager, he was ashamed of his body. The marks from where he scratched himself were from a past life, a life before his friends, a life where he thought the whole world was against him.

Even with them all gone, the memories were still fresh in his mind. The Marauding Years may have been twenty years ago, but he'd never forget him. It'd take a pretty good Memory Charm to erase those memories. He now had a future in front of him. Sure the present wasn't the cheeriest, but he knew being pessimistic wasn't the way to go, being optimistic was. And Tonks was in that future… Tonks was coming to dinner tonight…

Yes, Remus did fee guilty about thinking about Tonks, but deep in his heart, he could see Sirius's face, telling him not to be silly, and go out with the lass, despite her age. But the future…

The future… Where did he see himself in ten years? Married with several kids? He adored children, one of the reasons why he went back to teach at Hogwarts. He desperately wanted kids of his own… But he didn't know whether lycanthropy could be transmitted through childbirth. Remus was always to afraid to read about how it was transmitted. He knew it couldn't be transmitted through sex. And thank god…

Being a Marauder at Hogwarts had its benefits! He wasn't as girl-mad as Sirius in those days… Sirius lived life to the full during Hogwarts, nothing would stand in his way… James lived for Lily, even if she didn't exactly like him for seven years, but he loved her… But he did have several girlfriends - in order to make Lily jealous.

He dearly wanted a family of his own… But… Say he bit his children by accident…? Say he bit his wife…? Dreaded things like this surfaced Remus's mind daily before Sirius's death. He'd often talk it over with Sirius. Sirius would tell him not to worry until the time came, and not to worry because the Wolfsbane potion worked wonders. These worries often stopped Remus from embarking in a serious relationship. At the age of thirty-seven, he didn't want silly little flings - he wanted the real thing.

Remus dried himself off, and slipped into a set of fraying robes, and made his way downstairs to start worrying about the meal that night.

"Six O'clock." Remus muttered staring avidly at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. "One hour…" He was now slightly sweaty. The soaring London temperatures didn't help in the dingy kitchen. Remus now resorted to using Cooling Charms to cool himself down. The pre-date nerves were making him jittery and clammy. The slightest sound would make him jump a few feet into the air.

Half past six came and went, and soon the big hand touched the seven. And there was a knock on the door. "Oh… She's here…" Remus whispered to himself. He made to walk out the kitchen, but some kind of force was preventing him from doing so. "Get yourself together man!" Remus shook his head violently, and made his way to the front door. Calmly, he opened the door with several clinks and clunks. Tonks stood in the door way, flamingo pink curls falling around her heart shaped face. Tonks wore a striking orange gingham pinafore dress, teamed with purple army books. In her hand she had a small bag presumably full of ingredients. Tonks beamed at him, and gave him a chocolate bar. She strode down into the kitchen without even saying hello, leaving Remus to stare at the chocolate bar in shock. He shut the door and went downstairs to see Tonks.

"Wotcher Remus!" Tonks grinned. She'd already started to cook, and from what Remus could tell, she to was very nervous.

"Hello Tonks. A-are you alright there?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"Of course I am!" Tonks started to fill a saucepan with boiling hot water from her wand. "Eat up!" She added, pointing to the chocolate bar. "Molly said you liked Twix bars." Remus nodded, and unwrapped the golden wrapper, taking a bite into one of the biscuity bars, which had a layer of smooth caramel and was topped with soft creamy chocolate.

"Why am I having this now?" He asked, swallowing the chocolate.

"I know you like them! Good to start a meal on a good note eh?"

"Yes I suppose you're right!" Remus chuckled, now starting on the second bar in the packet. "I never knew Molly knew I liked these - they're a Muggle bar!"

"Yeah. Ever wonder where that crate of them came from last September? Molly asked Sirius what chocolate bar you liked as thank you for getting rid of the Boggart. She was to embarrassed to say they were from her."

"How nice of her!" Remus smiled, beaming at the Twix. Tonks was now stirring the pot of pasta with her wand. Remus sat down at the table thoughtfully.

"You do like pasta right?" Tonks asked over her shoulder, draining the pasta.

"Yes, I do actually. Love the stuff. My mum used to make it for me when I was a boy."

"Good… Good…" Tonks muttered breathlessly, adding a warm creamy sauce around the pasta. "Right - I think I'm done!" Tonks whirled around smiling mischievously at Remus holding a plate in each of her hands. She literally danced over to the table and placed the steaming pasta in front of him. Remus delved into the pasta straight away. It was delicious… Almost as good as his mother's.

"It's wonderful Tonks." Remus said in-between a bite. Tonks beamed at him thankfully.

"I was so scared it'd turn out awful or something, I don't really cook much, unless you count those ready meals, y'know Oliver Harriet's Fast Food range!" "Oh, I've had a few of them, god they're ghastly!"

"Yeah, but I guess they'll do!" Tonks grinned at Remus again. He looked into her eyes… Her eyes were almost dancing. They were a dark inky blue, and glittered every time she laughed and smiled, they made Remus go all squishy inside. "Remus? Are you OK?"

"Oh, I couldn't be better." Remus said absently, still staring ardently into Tonks's eyes.

"Is there something on my nose?" She asked, looking down it.

"No, of course not." A bit of colour rushed into Remus's pallid cheeks. Tonks smiled again.

"Erm, Remus. There's something I need to tell you." Tonks said quite breathlessly. She took her wine glass, and gulped the red wine down in one go.

"Go ahead. I'm all ears." Remus wondered what she was going to tell him, half of him hoped she was going to proclaim her love for him, but half of him wished she wouldn't… Even though Remus thought he loved Tonks, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to embark on a relationship.

"Well… For a few months now…" Tonks started, she refilled her glass of wine, and drank the entire glass once again. "I've had feelings for someone." Remus's heart dropped. Someone. Bet it was Kingsley.

"Someone?" Remus asked, his voice dry and hoarse.

"Yeah…" Tonks muttered. Her eyes fell to the floor, and she turned slightly in her chair. "You know him really well." Arthur? Kingsley? Get it over and done with. Anyone would fall for nice blokes. Yes it'd be Arthur, as he's married… She'll want my advice… She ought never to approach him… Yes that's what I'll tell her.

"Do I? Who is it?"

"You." Remus opened his mouth in shock. Tonks slouched on her chair and guzzled down some more wine.

"Me?" He asked breathlessly pointing to himself. Tonks nodded glumly. Remus didn't know what to do. He was split in two - half wanting her, half not wanting a relationship.

"I've fallen in love with you. There said it." A few tears dropped from Tonks's eyes and onto the stone floor. "You could say something y'know."

"I - I don't know what to say…"

"Well, you either like me back, or you don't."

"Well, I do." Tonks looked at Remus, her eyes sparkling with tears. Remus felt a dead feeling in his stomach - he couldn't be with her… He just couldn't.

"Y-you do? You feel the same way?"

"Yes, yes I do. B-"

"Oh Remus!" Tonks cried she jumped up from her chair and walked over to Remus slowly.

"B-but Tonks. Listen!" Tonks stopped abruptly and frowned at Remus.

"But?"

"Never fall in love with a werewolf."

"What? Why not?" Tonks brought her hand up to her mouth.

"It's difficult."

"I don't care about you being a werewolf!"

"It's not that."

"It's my age isn't it? I'm to young to be Remus Lupin's partner!"

"No, no, Tonks, you don't understand!"

"No! I think it's you who doesn't understand!" Tonks wailed, more tears seeping form her eyes. Remus stood up, he was in shock, he didn't expect this. If he could just explain why… "Goodbye Remus!" Tonks stormed out of the kitchen in a mad frenzy. Remus followed her up the stairs, but she was to quick for him. By the time he reached the hall, she had gone…

Author's Note - I'm so sorry for the lack of update, but I had GCSEs (OWLS) to worry about, and I didn't do very well… I got Bs in English and Art, but Ds in everything else which is rubbish… Can't even do the A-Levels (NEWTS) I want now. So don't expect good stories in the future as I won't be able to do A-Level English Literature and Language…

Well review! Please! I'm begging you! You've all been so lovely and wonderful so far, so don't stop!