VENIFICUS PRIMO

"It's humble, but it's home," said Gideon Skinner as he greeted Tonks and Moody at his manor near Holyhead. Moody and Tonks followed their host as he sauntered through his halls. The wizard reminded Tonks of a darker version of Lucious Malfoy. "Of course, I live here all alone, so I do look forward to your company tonight. Most evenings I only have the portraits to talk to."

"This bloke looks like he'd have interesting stories," said Tonks as she indicated a salty sea captain with a raven perched on his shoulder. The Captain grinned at her comment and the raven preened.

"John MacGregor Skinner is one of my more famous ancestors. He was born in the Colonies and fought in the colonial rebellion in America, then spent a long life here. Muggles think he was washed overboard at the age of 70, but really, he just wanted to retire to a warmer climate. Lived for another 70 years, in fact, in the West Indies."

"And would that be the same raven?" asked Moody, now pointing to the large blackbird that roosted on the mantle of the fireplace at the end of the long hall. Moody's blue eye was doing a weird rotation in its socket.

Skinner hesitated just a moment. "Ah, a joker, I see. Very funny, Mister Moody. How ridiculous to think the same raven would be so long lived?"

Tonks matched Skinner's fake smile, although she noticed Moody's face was impassive. "Well, Mister Skinner, I'm sorry to invade your privacy like this, but we must begin our inspection."

"By all means, please proceed. I have nothing to hide here. Cornelius said the best way to squash the rumors about my alleged activities would be to let the Aurors have a go at my manor and grounds," assured Skinner. The raven suddenly flew to the man's shoulder and initiated a staring contest with Moody.

"We'll begin, then," said Tonks. Skinner nodded and left, but the two Aurors didn't move until he was out of sight.

"You know bloody well we won't find a thing in this house," began Tonks.

"You're right, but let's do a stroll through so that our host won't be suspicious."

"And why exactly am I wasting my time here?" asked Tonks.

"They have a very interesting Roman fort at Holyhead, you know. Caer Gybi even has a church right in the middle of it."

"And you think there's something special about the fort?" asked Tonks. Moody didn't waste his breath on random topics.

"I've never been there, but trust me. We need to take a stroll when we finish here. Breathe in some sea air."

wwwwwwww

The Aurors used a disillusionment charm as they walked to Caer Gybi. Once they arrived at the Roman fort, it didn't take Moody long to find the right charm to reveal the proper entrance in the herringbone wall.

"I'll watch your--bloody hell," said Tonks. She saw Skinner walking across the street with the raven flying high above his head.

"In you go, Tonks, I'll take care of Skinner. That raven warrants another look," said Moody as he let his disillusionment charm fall away and appeared to walk from around the corner.

Tonks entered quickly, but heard Skinner calling to Moody.

"Mister Moody, what brings you out here? Enjoying the sights with the young witch?"

"Hmf. It never serves to have a woman as a partner. Ran off to look at baubles and whatnot..."

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Tonks could feel the age of the old Roman fort as she walked down the passage. She held her wand in front of her and tread softly. She wasn't the best Auror when it came to stealth, but her clumsiness diminished when she was on duty.

She stopped suddenly and cocked her head. Had she heard a sound? Tonks held her breath for a moment and concentrated. Moody's rubbing off on me, all right, thought Tonks with a roll to her eyes.

"Aquilo." The word was spoken softly, but suddenly the light of her wand went out as a cold gust of air hit her.

"Expelliarmus!" she cried immediately as she raised her wand with her right hand while waving her left to grab at a wand that should have come her way.

"Protego." The word was softly spoken, but simultaneous with her own spell.

"Immobilus." Both voices rang in concert and the spells collided with a blinding spark.

But now Tonks could feel the body in front of her even as an arm was reaching out to grab the collar of her cloak. She raised her wand ready to fight off the attack, but then the quiet voice said, "Lumos."

They stood with his wand at her throat and her wand pressed against his chest at his heart. Both were breathing heavily and looked at each other in surprise.

Lupin moved first and stepped backwards saying, "Tonks? You're not Moody."

Tonks blinked once and said, "Stumpy leg, magic eye, manly bits? No, haven't got any of those. Sorry."

"Where's--Why--When--What are you doing to me?" said Lupin in frustration. He was never at a loss for words but here he stood stammering. He was so happy to see her, guilty he'd attacked her and angry that she was in this place. How did one deal with so many emotions at once?

"What I'm not doing is arresting you yet, Professor Lupin. You just committed a level five offense in attacking an Auror on duty!" Tonks felt like hugging him in her relief to see him and slapping him for upsetting her the previous day. She settled for glaring at him.

"I set the wards so that only Mad-eye could open them, but then I didn't hear his walk." Lupin ran a hand through his hair. "Where is he? Has something happened?"

"Don't be so happy to see me; I'll faint from the glow," muttered Tonks, now a bit hurt that he seemed to find her presence here a nuisance.

She continued. "Moody's here. He's distracting Gideon Skinner, the wizard we're investigating, while I look around," said Tonks as she controlled her temper. She had to find some emotional distance from him, so she put her job first and scanned the chamber. Tonks whistled. "This looks like a bloody arsenal."

"That's an accurate description," said Lupin as he walked away from her. He faced a man-sized cage that occupied the corner of the room and grabbed the bars as he leaned wearily against them.

Tonks took note of the bloodstained weapons. "Spears, swords, axes, cross-bows, nets." She inspected the fine carvings on the handles. The lupine theme would be apparent even to a naive eye. "Wolf Hunter weapons."

"Yes." The word was quietly spoken, but Lupin didn't turn to face her.

"But they've been used against humans recently," said Tonks as she turned her attention from the contents of the Arsenal to the man. "These are the Dark artifacts that Skinner's been hiding."

"No!" protested Lupin as he turned around. He took a calming breath and explained, "The weapons are spelled to have maximum effect against any type of wolf, but werewolves in particular. They aren't meant for the Dark Arts; they were created to protect humans against--Them."

"How did you know about this place, Remus?" asked Tonks as she slowly approached him. "Did they--were you hunted?"

Lupin was shaking his head and then a bitter laugh erupted. "No, not the hunted."

Tonks frowned for a moment, but then she glanced to the letters carved on the plate of the cage he was standing against.

"Lupinus." She read the word and then looked around the chamber again. "Lupinus. Lupin. The name got shortened over time."

"Yes."

"Your family, they were the Wolf Hunters." Tonks shook her head. Then her voice held the wonder of a child who had made an impossible discovery. She brought her hand to her mouth as she said, "Remus. Of course. Your name's not just a parental whim."

Tonks closed her eyes and leaned her back against the cage as she now stood beside Lupin. She kept her eyes closed as she asked, "Venificus Primo? Are you a direct descendent of the Roman wizards?"

"Venificus Primo," confirmed Lupin, but without any arrogance. "Only through my father's line, though. In each generation only one son survived to pass on the name and the legacy."

Tonks tried to absorb this information about the mild-mannered professor she had first met. Venificus Primo. Many wizards in Britain made the claim, but none could substantiate it. Tonks gulped and asked, "Don't tell me you also have ancient Celtic--"

Lupin shrugged. "My forefathers took brides wherever the hunt would take them. Here in Wales, but also in Ireland and Scotland. Some even went to France and Romania before coming back. That's how we hid our line; my ancestors pretended to be immigrating, but were actually coming home. Not all of the brides were witches, though."

"Well, that's a relief," said Tonks wryly. "Your family certainly did a good job. Wolves have been extinct in the British Isles for 250 years."

"They had help from the rest of the population, but from Holyhead the Lupins could head to Ireland or up to Scotland for the hunt. Finally, only the werewolves were left." Lupin shrugged his shoulders. "What happened to me was probably inevitable."

Tonks looked up at Lupin's profile as she asked, "Were you on a hunt when it happened? When you were bitten?"

Lupin closed his eyes. "I was young and foolish. What happened to me was all my fault."

"But you were just a child. Surely your parents--"

"No, my father didn't know what I was doing until it was too late." Lupin drew in a deep breath. "He and my grandfather had just finished a hunt and brought back this werewolf alive. I wanted to prove to my grandfather that I wasn't--" Lupin couldn't finish and just shook his head as he took a step away from the cage.

"Afraid?" offered Tonks as she moved by him.

"He said my father was too gentle to keep up the family tradition and then he'd look at me with the same disappointment." Lupin finally met Tonks' gaze. "My mother taught me to read when I turned four. I was so proud of how fast I picked it up until I saw the disapproval in my grandfather's eyes. So when I was five, I came down here just to look. Father was already showing me how to take care of the weapons."

Tonks surveyed the contents of the Arsenal again. Lupin would be a rich man if sold the items. He noted how she was looking at them and explained, "I wasn't going to hurt it--him-- or even go near. But then, I saw his eyes. The werewolf was in so much pain."

Tonks could understand what happened next. "You wanted to help, so you walked closer."

Lupin could only nod, then he finished by saying, "If it weren't for the cage, I'd be dead. The werewolf would have gotten a better grip on me. So this cage protected me then and later..."

Lupin suddenly turned and banged a fist against the bars. "It's strong, designed to contain a werewolf. And every full moon after that, this cage protected my family against me."

Tonks stared at the cell with new understanding. Unlike the Shrieking Shack, no residuals from Lupin's transformation remained on the surrounding metal and stone. She blinked her eyes and calmed her breathing. "Your parents would clean up the mess in the morning."

Lupin ran his fingers across the bars and created a melancholy tone. "They were gentle people, Tonks. My father gave up the hunt. Even when my grandfather died five years later, he never took it up again. But he always made sure the Arsenal was in pristine condition. Now this--this desecration happens on my watch. I won't tolerate it."

Both were silent for a moment as they became absorbed in their thoughts. Tonks could hardly believe she had ever thought Remus Lupin was a bland English gentleman. The power of the ancient magic around her was very strong and she could practically feel the connection now between Remus and this environment.

"It's been well hidden all these centuries. How did it get breached?" asked Tonks.

"Skinner's raven," said a third voice.

Tonks and Lupin turned to find Moody stomping down to them. "What did I tell you about constant vigilance, boy?"

"Don't worry, Mad-eye, he's already committed a level five offense today," assured Tonks. She was relieved to have some breathing space after all she had discovered about Lupin.

"Good. It was a draw?" said Moody as he surveyed the room.

"We'll take it up later," said Tonks.

Moody looked at the silent Lupin and admonished, "I warned you about getting involved with Aurors."

"On numerous occasions, but now I want to know how the Arsenal was invaded. What does Skinner's raven have to do with it?" Lupin appeared quite eager for this information.

"It's no raven, it's an animagus," said Moody as his eye began spinning. "A very old animagus who has been spying on the Lupins for two centuries."

Lupin frowned at this information. "Skinners have always had ravens. Now it looks like they have a werewolf, too."

"You know who this werewolf is?" asked Tonks.

"I detected him this morning, but he slipped away. Skinner has a cousin named Martin Leeks. I think he was deliberately bitten."

"That's rather extreme," said Tonks.

"He's a squib who didn't get sent to Hogwarts because the family was ashamed of him." Lupin sighed. "If you can't do magic, why not be magical? But there's more. The attacks last month were very deliberate. I think he's using Wolfsbane to maintain coherent thought."

"The power of the werewolf but the mind of a human," said Moody, "and a psychopathic one at that. Well, I can see why you called for help."

"At least the odds are even," said Tonks. "So, do we go after them now or--"

"You should go home, Tonks," said Lupin with resolve. "Moody and I can see to this."

"You should go home, Remus," said Tonks as she stood face to face and craned her neck to keep eye contact. "Moody and I can see to this. We're the Aurors."

"It's my legacy," said Lupin sternly.

"It's my job," countered Tonks.

"And it's my headache if you two keep this up," said Moody. "We'll deal with Skinner first, but if you can't get to this Leeks fellow by full moon, we'll be out to help you. Now, let me decontaminate these weapons. They would've killed you if you'd tried it, Lupin."

"This is a trap for you, you know," began Tonks.

"I'm fully aware of that, Tonks, but I know what I'm doing."

"And you think I don't? You--ugh!" Tonks walked away from the men muttering, "I'll wait for you outside, Moody, before I commit a level six offense."

Lupin watched her retreating back as Moody began decontaminating the weapons. He asked, "Why did you bring Tonks with you?"

"Because she's damn good at what she does," said Moody. "If you can't accept her as an Auror then you shouldn't pursue her further."

"I am not pursuing her," insisted Lupin.

"That's your problem, Lupin. You're too much like that turtle patronus of yours. Quiet, hide in a shell, slow moving until you're in the right environment." Moody's eye was spinning wildly. "Get your head out or leave her be."

Lupin was at a loss for a retort. How had things become so complicated? He only wanted her to be safe. He had to make her understand. "I better talk to her."

"We're meeting Skinner for dinner at just after sunset. Make sure she's not late."

Tonks was standing outside the entrance when Lupin walked by her and grabbed her arm. "Come with me."

"Now wait just a minute," said Tonks as she shook off his hand and backed away from him by several steps. "What makes you think you can--"

"Accio Tonks!"

You aren't supposed to be able to summon another wizard, thought Tonks as she found herself in Lupin's arms. They disapparated with a smooth, low toned pop.

wwwwwwwww

Lupin set her down as soon as they apparated into an old stone house. It carried the same undertones of the Arsenal, but here the atmosphere was much warmer and inviting. Tonks stumbled a little when he put her down, but caught herself and quickly put distance between them. "That's some trick, Remus. Anything else up your sleeve?"

Lupin surprised her as he raised his wand, holding it sideways in a fisted hand. It was a sign of surrendering the wand to an Auror, so her own hand rose automatically and took it.

"Go ahead, Tonks. I won't stop you. Hit me with everything you've got," said Lupin as he stood there with arms open. He would not defend himself. He couldn't show his trust any clearer than this.

Tonks bit her lip and shook her head. Why were they fighting? She looked at the two wands in her hand and said, "You know, I was going to force you to listen to a solid hour of the Weird Sisters for not letting me know you were gone."

Lupin's hands fell to his sides. "What? But, I didn't think it would be important to you--"

"Oh, shut up before I do wallop you with a large, smelly halibut!" said Tonks as she walked up to him.

"It would be preferable to that bit of Weird Sisters torture you had in mind," said Lupin with a dubious glance and a light smile.

"Remus, you are so clueless," said Tonks as she reached up to touch his face. "I've been worried about you. I didn't even know where you were with the full moon coming. I don't want to see you get hurt."

He leaned into that warm hand and pulled her into his embrace without thinking. They just stood there for several minutes as they accepted the fact that they couldn't protect the other from the dangers they chose to expose themselves to.

"My dear Aurora," began Lupin, using the archaic term for the female Auror, "I have complete faith in your abilities. I've just been seeing this as my fight, not anyone else's."

"You'd accept help from Moody," said Tonks.

"Yes, well, that's because he scares me," said Lupin as he rubbed his cheek against the top of head.

"And I don't?"

"You leave me completely petrified at times," admitted Lupin.

"Then I meet your qualifications for assisting you," said Tonks. She pulled back to look in his eyes. "I'm not leaving."

"I know, I was foolish to tell you to go," said Remus. This time, he gently took her hand and led her to mantle. He opened the ebony box and withdrew the moonstone amulet. Without a word, he put it around her neck.

Tonks touched the stone gently with her fingers. She recognized the gem and then suddenly felt the magic. "It's been charmed. An amulet?"

"Look at my shadow," said Remus. He held his breath as he expected to see the fear or the loathing in her face. Did she realize what he really was during full moon?

Tonks frowned, but looked to the wall. The shadow Remus cast seemed to flicker and then fill out into another form. The profile was clearly that of his werewolf. She gasped, but her words were enthusiastic and not hesitant. "It's a detector. Your family used it for the hunt?"

"They're called Wolfshadow amulets." Lupin pulled out its twin from under his shirt. "I can't bear to wear it everyday, but if I need to find a werewolf, it's a good resource."

Tonks looked at him in curiosity. "And how often have you had to find another werewolf?"

Lupin slipped his amulet back under his shirt. He tapped absently at the mantle for a moment, then explained. "Last year, the Ministry had some incidents with werewolves they wanted handled quietly."

"I see. That's why you're suspicious about Leeks using the Wolfsbane to maintain enough sanity to control the power. You know firsthand how that works"

"I quit after I caught the first three and came back here. Then Sirius found me and told me what had happened with the Triwizard Tournament."

"And now you're on the hunt again," said Tonks. "But you can't use the weapons in the Arsenal, can you?"

"No opposable thumb, but then I've always had the advantage of planning."

"We'll see about Skinner and be out to help you immediately," promised Tonks.

Lupin nodded in agreement. He intended to have his issue resolved before they were drawn into facing a werewolf. He looked out the window and for once, gave into impulse. "Come on, there's one more thing I want you to see."

They sat together on the cliffs watching the South Stack Lighthouse begin to glow as the sun fell in the western sky. Tonks had her hand lightly on his knee and felt his covering hers, tangling their fingers together. They remained silent and enjoyed the peace of the moment. They knew the night ahead would bring no rest.

TBC

Author Notes:

Aquilo means north wind in Latin, but is not HP canon. Nor is the concept of Venificus Primo, but it translates roughly into first wizard. Can a wizard summon another through accio? I don't know, but who could resist it with these two?

John MacGregor Skinner is based on a real sea Captain from Holyhead. He really had a raven, so I couldn't resist using this. I mean no offense to direct descendents. This is just a work of fiction, but his rich character was inviting to the story.

Caer Gybi is the name of the Roman fort at Holyhead and is supposed to be very well preserved. The lighthouse I describe is also real. You can find the info and a short clip of these things at worldwidewales.tv/index

About the righteous snog phrase in the first chapter. It merely echoes Moody's words from A Kiss Is Just a Kiss.

Thank you for reading and reviews. I hope the plausibility of the situation was maintained in this chapter. The last chapter will wrap up this story and should be posted in about 4 days.