This is it, thought Nymphadora Tonks looking herself in the mirror. The final battle had come and they would be marching soon. Over the past year she and Remus had had a somewhat rocky relationship. She didn't even know if she even call it that, but there was no denying that had something. She sprouted her pink hair with purple streak in show of her readiness for battle.
"We're leaving!" shouted Hermione, down the corridor.
Harry had turned Godrics Hollow into their secondary headquarters when the Death Eaters took Grimmauld's Place. The headquarters was several miles underneath the actual house and the only entrance was miles away from the house itself. A number of wards were surrounding the place along with curses. Harry was taking no chances.
"All right, let go get Remus!" yelled Tonks, in reply.
She found Remus in the meeting room with his back to her. "Hey, it's time to go."
He started and turned around with sheepish smile. "Um, just let me finish this…" He was gesturing to a paper with scribbles on it. She ran up to him and kissed him lightly on his lips.
"Come on, puppy," teased Tonks, with a quick glance at the scribble. She couldn't make anything out of it so she paid it no mind.
"All right…" said Remus, looking worriedly at the paper. "I'll be there in a sec." He hurriedly scribbled a few more lines on the paper.
Tonks glanced at briefly, but only said, "All right."
She jogged back through the tunnels to meet up with everyone else. Harry stood in the center with Ginny Weasley, looking every inch of the hero he was.
"This is it," he said, repeating the phrase she said in her head all day. "Let's go."
She turned to see Remus right behind her. "Follow the leader," he said, and they did.
----
"My cousins are so useless! Nothing but filthy blood traitors!" taunted Bellatrix, throwing hexes at Tonks. "It'll feel good to take another out!"
"You can't touch me!" shouted Tonks. She effortlessly dodged another attack. "Getting slow, cousin?"
"TONKS WATCH OUT!"
Before she could react, everything went black.
----
Tonks ached all over and her head was hurting as if something were sitting on it. She tried to recall what happened and did, tearfully. She'd been dueling her cousin Bellatrix when a voice called out to her. To warn her. It was Remus. He sounded so horror struck she wanted to tell him she was okay.
Then she heard blasts and people screaming. What? Tonks thought fuzzily. The war was still going on. She tried to get up but hands pushed her down.
"Stay down, you're hurt very badly," said a voice. She thought it sounded familiar but she knew it wasn't Remus and if it wasn't him, she didn't care. "Drink this."
Before she could protest, a bottle was brought to her lips and she was so weak she couldn't stop the liquid. She drifted off into the cheerless darkness once more.
----
Tonks abruptly woke up and squinted at the sunlight in her face. Turning her head slightly, she noticed a tent was over her and that she was lying on grass.
"Tonks, you're all right!" exclaimed a voice.
Tonks saw it was Ginny. Obviously, the battle had gone well. Good, thought Tonks, she wanted to talk to Remus. "Where's Remus?"
Ginny looked uncomfortable. "Er…"
"Ginny! We need help over here!" a voice yelled outside the tent.
"Be back," said the red head, disappearing from the makeshift tent.
Tonks leaned back down onto the cold ground sighing. She wanted to talk to Remus now. She wanted him to know she was okay. Suddenly, a huge black owl flew in and landed next to her head. It had a rolled up parchment in it's talons and Tonks felt an unknown uneasiness grip her stomach. When she reached out to take the parchment, a little package fell out it. She warily set the box aside and opened the parchment with her name on the front. The handwriting looked like Remus's and she started trembling. She looked inside and saw:
In the event that I do not get to give you this in person, I have left behind this letter. I'll make it short and sweet. Whatever the hell that means.
I've loved you since I met you but I didn't want to burden you with my existence. Even Sirius encouraged me but I remained distant from you. What you pointed out in the last year was that I was stupidly afraid of letting myself be happy. Well, just so you know, you made me happy. I love you Nymphadora Tonks and would've liked you to marry me. Don't cry, you'll be all right.
Love,
R. J. Lupin.
Tonks finally recognised what the letter was. It was what he was scribbling before they left. She hugged the letter to her chest and sobbed soundlessly. Every now and then she would rock and stare at it through tear blurred eyes. She opened the box tremulously as if afraid of what it held. She opened it and saw the most stunning jewel ever.
It was black onyx in the shape of a heart. The silver band had wolf cub being petting by a nymph inscribed in it. Tonks shakily put on her ring. It gleamed perfectly on her fourth finger of her left hand. New tears rolled down her cheeks.
When Ginny and the others found her, she was clutching the letter and whispering, "I'll find you in the afterlife, puppy."
A/N: To see the letter written out go here: http/img.