Leaving The Dursley's

The following morning Remus was awoken by the faint sounds of Harry moving about the room quietly trying to fix the vase and dry the rug. Remus sat up and stretched, waiting for the satisfactory moment when the shoulder of his right arm would crack; sending thrilling chills all down his arm

At the sound of the crack, Harry, who was back-to Remus, froze as though listening for someone who had just apparated.

Remus smiled to himself. After all, the crack did sound like a poorly performed Apparation. "Good morning, Harry," he said pleasantly.

Harry whipped his head around, obviously quite startled. "Professor," he fumbled, slipping back into the habit he'd picked up during his third year of school when Remus had indeed been one of Harry's professors. "I didn't know you were awake. I was just…" He looked away hastily and embarrassed, and Remus knew exactly why.

After all, it wasn't everyday you woke up one of your old professors and his girlfriend by accident in hopes of fixing the things they'd broken doing Lord-Knows- what in the night.

Harry, who was still looking away, his eyes fixed on a spot of nothing on the wall said, "I hope I didn't wake you. I saw the mess and I Aunt Petunia'd have a fit if she saw it, and well, I was trying to fix it as quiet as I could…"

Remus smiled, "Don't worry, Harry, you wouldn't have woken anyone else. See," he pointed to the sleeping form of Tonks on the other end of the couch, "she's still asleep." He smiled again.

Harry mumbled an apology, but Remus simply stated, "Not to worry. It's the werewolf in me, my hearing, as well as all my other senses, are better than everyone else's." He rose and helped Harry fix the vase and everything else within the room that was broken or just plain out of place.

When they were done, Remus looked to Harry's trunk. "So you're ready to leave, then?"

Harry nodded, "Well, the wedding is in two weeks."

"True that is it, that doesn't mean you have to leave so soon."

Harry laughed, which, Remus noted, was the first time he'd heard him do so since Christmas. However, before he could comment, Harry pressed on, "You think I'd stay here and longer than I have to? Besides, I'd like sometime with Ron and Hermione before I leave for Godric's Hollow."

"And what about Ginny?"

Harry looked around, as though avoiding the subject.

"Ah, I see. Ms. Weasley is no longer in your life. This, I suppose is to keep her safe from You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah," mumbled Harry, "I mean, everyone I've loved has died by his hands. I just couldn't risk it with someone else."

"And I suppose you gave her no option on the matter?"

Harry glared at him. "What's the matter! You didn't give Tonks a choice! Look at what it did to her!"

"Harry," Remus began, "that's diff-"

"It's not any different, and you know it!"

Remus, who had come to accept this moody behavior, had put up with it since Dumbledore's death, but would not tolerate Harry implying in anyway that his original decision regarding Tonks was wrong. "Your aunt and uncle will be home shortly, go bring Hedwig down and finish getting ready to leave."

He watched Harry leave the room, and turned down in surprise to find Tonks laying awake looking at him.

"He's right, you know. It's exactly the same." But she simply smiled, "And hopefully, like you, he'll come around and make the right choice."

Remus smiled as well, but quickly the smile melted off his face. "They're on their way back, just at the end of the street."

Tonks jumped up and began throwing off her clothes, while rummaging through her own chest, looking for something to wear. Remus cleared his throat, mumbled something about getting changed elsewhere, and left the room, trunk levitating behind him, leaving behind him, leaving an extremely confused Tonks standing on one foot trying to tug on a sock.

"We'll wait out front while you say good-bye, then, Harry?"

"Oh, yeah… sure," Harry replied, looking as though saying good-bye to the Dursley's was something he thought any sane person should know he wouldn't be expected to do.

Remus shut the front door after them and sat down on the front steps, watching Tonks walk to the edge of the road and stand there, saying nothing. She had been oddly quiet since Remus had left to get dressed, and he had no idea why.

He finally asked, "Something wrong?"

She whipped around in surprise, as if she had quite forgotten that was Remus was there, let alone that he even existed. "Hmm? Oh, no." She answered absentmindedly.

"Come off it, what's wrong?"

"Are you ashamed of me?" She asked rather bluntly.

"What? No! Why, should I be?" He replied, shocked by the accusation.

"Well, to my knowledge you have no reason to be. But every time we're in the same room and I'm getting changed you run out as though I have leprosy or something. We're both matures adults, Remus, you don't need to act as though you're embarrassed by the simple human nature of getting dressed!"

Remus was about to answer when a soft voice came from the garden, "Dear, it seems I've come at a bad time."

Both Remus and Tonks turned to see Petunia Dursley standing several feet away, waist deep in lilies and irises in the garden.

"Mrs. Dursley! Aren't you… Why aren't you in saying good-bye to Harry?"

Petunia stepped from the garden. "I was, but I told him I had some things to give him and I had to go get them. But I have to talk to you, so I slipped out the back and came to talk to you."

Tonks merely nodded, clearly upset by Petunia's interruption. Remus, however, was very thankful for any reason to avoid Tonks' accusations, and said, "You said you have things for him? Won't that upset him that you've lied?"

Petunia scoffed, "I haven't lied, I do have things for hi-"

And Remus, who found this very hard to believe, butted in, "What things?"

Then it was Tonks' who scoffed. I'm sorry, Petunia, some men are so inconsiderate."

This stung Remus, but he found this to be quite the wrong time to say anything of it. Petunia smiled at Tonks and pressed on, "It's business of Harry and I what I have for him, he can tell you if he wants, but that's not my place.

"Now, I know I haven't always been kind to Harry, or shown him the love that an aunt should, but I assure you, this has all been because of Vernon, who found your kind, for lack of a better term, wrong. Once we began dating, I knew to talk of such things, or to visit or say anything nice about Lily and James wouldn't go over well with him.

"Now, this wasn't a hard task as they lived in the magic world, and we in the Muggle world. Lily would occasionally mail me, the Muggle way, of course, pretending the letters to be from old school mates of mine. I would write and mail letters to her in return when Vernon was out of the house, and thus Lily and I kept in touch.

"You must understand, I've always loved Lily, and was fond of James. I think only Sirius was more happy for them when they had Harry, Of course, because of Vernon I never got the chance to see Harry, until the morning I awoke to find him sleeping peacefully on out doorstep.

"Vernon never wanted to take him in, and I'm sure today is the happiest day of both of their lives in away, but, that aside, I forced him to allow Harry to remain here. Not only because it was Dumbledore's wish, but because I knew it would please Lily. However, Vernon made it extremely hard to show any amount of love or respect for the boy, which is why I'm glad that Harry's leaving. He'll be with the people he loves, people like him. For the first time in his life, he'll be free to do whatever he pleases, and one day I'll mail him and tell him all of this…"

She trailed off, as from the house Vernon thundered, "Petunia, where've you got off to!"

Petunia frowned, as did Tonks in a sympathetic way, but Petunia kept going, 'He looks so much like James, but his eyes are so like Lily's that is hurts to look at him sometimes. You see it as well, don't you, Remus? But that won't save him from Voldemort. Remus, promise me that you'll protect him?"

Remus looked rather taken back by Petunia's request, as he found it both odd that she had to ask him such a thing, and odd that she had asked him such a thing.

Again Vernon called for Petunia in the house, and Remus nodded his head. "You shouldn't ever have to ask, but I promise, Petunia." Then he smiled and added; "Lily always talked of you at school, she admired you so much. She was always upset that you missed her wedding, but she understood about Vernon. I think she'd be proud of you right now, you know."

Petunia offered half a smile and muttered a thanks, and before she turned to go back in the house, Remus was certain he saw tears in her eyes.

When she was gone, he turned back to Tonks, who, despite the scene that had just occurred before her, was still glaring at Remus coldly. "Well?" She demanded.

He rose from the steps, but didn't move any closer to her. "I'm not ashamed of you," he whispered, "nor am I embarrassed by it. I just can't stand it. I love you so much, the thought of you, that close to me, wearing next to nothing… It drives me crazy."

Tonks, who had obviously not expected this as an answer, simply muttered, "Oh, Remus…" And they stood in awkward silence until Harry came out of the front door, carrying a small chest in his arms that looked vaguely familiar to Remus, a strange look on his face as he looked back to his aunt who had followed him to the door. She nodded curtly to the three of them and shut the door. But, as Harry turned around, Remus saw her pull back the curtain and stare out after her nephew.

"Well," Lupin said, as Harry approached, "are you ready to leave, Harry?"

Harry nodded almost sadly, and hoisting the chest under an arm, grabbed Lupin's pro-offered right arm.

"Let's go then," Remus said, and within seconds the three of them had turned gracefully on the spot, disappearing into this air, never again to return to the Dursley's.