Molly Weasley stood up with a gasp as Harry, Snape and a barely conscious Tonks traipsed down the kitchen stairs of Grimmauld Place. All three shivered from the sodden clothes they wore. Molly threw her arms around Harry.
"Oh thank Merlin!" she cried, almost suffocating him. He broke free, only for Hermione to do the same.
"I thought you were dead," she whimpered, her eyes puffy and red, obviously from crying. Harry shook his head, not knowing how else to respond. His friend gave a squeak and threw her arms around him once more. Ron also looked relieved, as he sat by his younger sister. Harry headed over to them once he had made sure Tonks was seated.
"What happened to you?" Molly exclaimed, handing Tonks a blanket first then Snape, who had never been fussed over by Molly before. He wore a brief look of puzzlement before accepting the warm dry blanket.
"I had a little accident," Tonks admitted, her pale cheeks warming in embarrassment as Snape took a seat beside her.
"She fell into the lake," he supplied coolly. Tonks looked at him then away quickly.
"And the baby?" Molly pressed.
"She's fine, I can feel her moving. She's had a busy night," Tonks added lightly. The front door banged loudly, awaking Mrs. Black and causing all heads to snap up to the top of the stairs. Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared as Mrs. Black was silenced.
"The castle's clear," he announced. "The kids got out safely and…the Death Eaters have all been scared off," he told them as he descended the stairs.
"They don't scare easily," Harry warned, but Kingsley knew. He simply nodded to the boy.
"They're gone. Moody is just clearing up with the team."
"And Remus?" Tonks asked standing and letting her blanket fall to the ground. Kingsley surveyed the witch for a moment, then a brief flicker of concern flashed across his face.
"I…I haven't seen him," the man admitted quietly. Tonks subconsciously lowered herself back down to her chair. She covered her face with her hands.
"Oh God, what have I done?" she whispered. "I shouldn't have left him, I should have been with him."
Harry bit his lip and looked to Ron, Ginny and Hermione. They all wore similar expressions of anxiety. Molly and Kingsley exchanged worried glances, Snape just looked at the floor.
"Come on Dora, let's get you out of these wet clothes," Molly said eventually, taking the witch by the hand.
"I can't," Tonks protested weakly, though she rose as Molly lead her from her seat and to the stairs. "I have to wait for Remus."
"We'll wait upstairs, dear. Come on, these wet clothes aren't good for the baby."
Once Molly and Tonks had left the kitchen, the others just sat and waited in silence. Snape felt rather uncomfortable in the situation, with Harry glancing over at him every other minute. Due to their stillness they heard the front door click to, quietly above them and once again all heads turned to see. Remus Lupin made his way slowly down the stairs. He heard Hermione whisper in relief and saw Harry jump up from his seat immediately. He rushed over to his guardian and pulled him into a fierce embrace, breathing heavily with relief.
"Harry," Lupin mumbled into the boy's hair. He let go of the man, and then thumped him rather hard on the shoulder.
"Where the hell have you been!" he exclaimed. Something flickered in Remus' eye that Harry didn't understand. The man simply shook his head.
"Where's Tonks?" he asked urgently. The group looked at each other. Remus followed their glances. "Well?"
"Relax Lupin, she's upstairs," Snape muttered from the table.
"Is she ok?"
"We had a slight hitch," Harry admitted. Remus looked at him in alarm then his eyes fell on Snape.
"What did you do to her, Snape? If I hear you hurt her in anyway I–"
"Remus, no!" Harry protested. "Tonks, she…she nearly drowned. She nearly died tonight Remus but Snape saved her. I stood there like a ninny while he saved her life!"
Remus blinked several times, trying to take in all that Harry had just confessed; that Dora had nearly died, that Harry had called himself a ninny, that Snape, Severus Snape, had saved his Dora's life.
"And the baby?" he found himself asking, nervously.
"He's fine," Harry grinned. Lupin and Snape locked stares.
"Thank you," Lupin whispered and he truly meant it. "Thank you so much, Severus. You…you have no idea how grateful I am. Really…thank you so much." Remus offered his hand, which Snape took hesitantly.
"You're welcome," he mumbled, not really sure how to react. Feeling rather uncomfortable he rose from his place, "If you'll excuse me," and headed up the kitchen.
Snape's hand was on the front door handle when a voice made him stop and turn around. Tonks was descending the stairs, once again wearing Harry's blue hoodie and a pair of old but dry jeans.
"Are you leaving, Severus?" she called.
"Yes. I must find Dumbledore and–"
"He'll be on his way here," she interjected, reaching the entrance hall. Her hair was still matted and damp, and her eyes were still naturally dark. She looked so much like her cousin, Snape realised. She looked at him expectantly and he removed his hand from the door.
"Yes, you're right," he commented. She made her way across to him.
"I guess…I owe you big time, huh?" Snape nodded but didn't speak. "Seriously Severus, thanks. I guess you would expect such a clumsy stunt from me, but it means a lot that you bothered to save me."
"Well, I couldn't just let you drown," he mumbled awkwardly. Tonks gave a little laugh.
"I'm glad you didn't," she smiled and he almost returned it. Almost. "Hey maybe I could name the baby after you!"
"Maybe not," he replied quickly.
"Good, I'm glad you said that," she laughed. "Well, like I said, thank you." She stood on her toes and kissed him briefly on the cheek. Snape took a small step back, feeling rather confused as to what had just happened.
"Lupin is downstairs," he managed to slur and Tonk's face brightened.
"Really? Is he ok?"
The man nodded to her.
"He's asking for you." Tonks headed for the kitchen stairs. "You know, Dora," he called and she paused. Snape had never called her that before. "Lupin's a lucky man."
"I know," she replied with a grin, before skipping off to the kitchen.
"Remus," Tonks breathed as she headed quickly down the stairs without tripping. He turned to her and embraced her as she ran to him. "I'm never leaving you again! Ever! I promise you!" she cried into his shoulder. He held her tight, smelling her hair, which smelt of pond water but he didn't care in the slightest; his Dora was safe.
"I'm so sorry I left you," she whimpered. "If anything had happened to you I–" He silenced her with a firm kiss, not caring about his audience. Kingsley gave a slight cough and turned away discretely. Ron went as red as his hair and twiddled his thumbs, Ginny and Hermione grinned at each other and Harry felt content. The pair broke apart.
"Don't you dare almost die on me again, Nymphadora, do you hear me?" he chided but she grinned.
"It wasn't in my plans."
"A midnight swim with Snape, should I be jealous?"
"I'd like for you to be," she teased and pulled him into a hug once more. They were broken apart as Dumbledore entered importantly, flanked by a weary looking McGonagall, a sullen Snape and Moody who looked rather merry considering the situation.
"The rest of the Order will be here momentarily," the Headmaster announced. "Children, if you could leave us please."
Harry resented being called a child, but obeyed nonetheless, giving Tonks a peck on the cheek before doing so.
In less than 10 minutes the kitchen was packed with anxious witches and wizards, all wanting to hear what was going on. As they all took their seats around the table, Tonks went to fetch herself a drink of water to try and remove the foul taste of the lake from her mouth. Remus was left alone, very aware of Mad-Eye Moody staring at him knowingly. Remus just blinked and turned away slightly. Tonks sat back down at his side and took his hand, giving him a weak smile. Dumbledore began to speak and the room shushed.
"You will all be relieved to know that all students were evacuated safely. They will be staying at Gringotts tonight." A sigh of relief went through the group. "What happened this evening…well I think you'll all agree when I say that it should never have happened." A murmur of concord went around the group. "And we must be very thankful that none of the students were hurt." Dumbledore paused and sighed wearily. "I must admit that this evening was due to a mistake on my part." The wizard turned to Tonks. "If I had listened to you Dora, then none of this would have happened. Security at Hogwarts is fully operational once more and further security measures are now in place. Please accept my apologies, Tonks."
Tonks eyes met his and she nodded briefly. "I'm just glad that everyone's safe," she murmured.
"Well," Dumbledore addressed the assembly once more. "It's been a long evening, so I think I'll leave it at that. Goodnight everyone."
Tonks dressed from her shower, still feeling slightly dirty but relieved that she no longer smelt of pondweed. She towel-dried her dark wavy hair as she wandered down the deserted corridors of Headquarters. Noticing that Remus had his light on and his door was slightly ajar, she poked her head through the gap. Her friend was sat on his bed, fully clothed and staring at his hands.
"Hey you, I thought you were asleep," she said and he shook his head. She entered the room, clicking the door to behind her, then scuttled over to join him on the bed.
"How's the Little Man doing?" he enquired and she smiled.
"Little Miss," she corrected. "And she's fine. I, on the other hand, have been puking up for the past hour. Word of advice Rem, don't drink the lake water, it ain't good for you." The man gave a slight smile. "You've been avoiding me since the meeting ended," she pointed out quietly." Remus looked away with a sigh.
"No…I've been avoiding everybody."
"Something wrong?" He didn't answer, or look at her. "Remus…Remus talk to me." She took his hand; it was cold.
"I've done a terrible thing, Dora," he mumbled. She frowned.
"Remus, what?" He finally looked at her now, his eyes filled with sorrow and regret.
"I killed him," he said quietly. Tonks felt her mouth drop and quickly closed it.
"Peter?" she tried to whisper but ended up mouthing. It was probably for the best, as she didn't think Remus would be strong enough to hear the name. He simply nodded, closing his eyes and letting an unwanted tear fall.
"And I shouldn't feel like this but I do. Why do I care so much?" he asked. Tonks couldn't answer. "I hated him; he'd put me through hell. I had lost everything because of him and yet…" He gave a shuddered breath and felt Tonks' arm move around him, pulling him towards her. "I'll never forget what he's done…but I know I'll also never forget that he was my brother, Tonks. They all were and now they're all gone," he choked then finally fell silent, resting his head against Tonks' shoulder.
"I know, I know," she whispered. "But you didn't have a choice, Remus. He was too dangerous to be kept alive." She felt him nod.
"You're right, I know you are. I couldn't let him hurt another person that I love; you or the baby, or Harry. I just feel so…guilty."
"You're only human, Remus," Tonks reasoned. Lupin wanted to laugh bitterly, and would have if he hadn't felt so sick. He didn't feel human at all.
"What must you think of me?" he asked quietly. Tonks paused.
"Well…let's just say I think we're even now." She was forced to remember her aunt, and gave a slight shudder. Remus tilted his head, glancing up at her.
"I guess so. We're a right pair, aren't we?" Tonks had to agree. She smiled down at him, stroking his soft hair and feeling his breathing slow as he fell to sleep in her arms.
"You silly man," she whispered softly, before kissing his forehead and joining him in sleep.
A/N: And then things take another interesting turn. Here's a sneak peak…
"–And you thought that I'd understand?" she choked back tears. "Well you obviously don't know me very well then. Hell, maybe you know me too well. Maybe I've just realised that I don't know you at all!" She rose from her place. Remus followed her.
"Where are you going?" he called after her. She spun around fiercely.
"Canada, Remus! See you in Hell!"
