A/N: I know it has been long since I last updated this story, but I hope you'll still like to read the continuation. Thank you to everybody who reviewed the story!

It's early morning and I woke up for no reason. Everything is as quiet as can be in London. Except for the soft, almost inaudible breathing right next to me. He looks so peaceful in the grey light, untroubled, his features entirely unguarded the way they never are when he is awake. White lines of uneven skin cross his naked chest and disappear underneath the blanket. The scars he was so reluctant to let me see yesterday when I started to take off his shirt.

'As I said this morning, the torso is where I was bitten, so there are traces...'

'And?'

I grin to myself at the memory, because when I was kissing those scars, that's when he finally threw caution to the wind and started touching me. And then we made love. Not that it lasted long, he came so quickly that it was over before it had properly begun, but as I assured him when he started mumbling apologies, I didn't mind in the slightest. This was only our first time, there will be more, we've crossed that line.

The following days are a blur of long hours at the Auror office and crystal clear moments spent with Remus, always too short. No trace of Snape, not even a speck of grease, but Aurors have been explicitly instructed to stay away from Malfoy Manor and to not take any risks with known Death Eaters, which is telling of the Ministry's increasing lack of agency. Given the workload at the Auror office, plus tasks for the Order and the fact that nights have become somewhat busy, I should be a living corpse by now – but truth is, I haven't felt this energetic for about a year! It's strange saying it in the face of Dumbledore's recent death, but I've never been happier in my life! I fall asleep and wake up next to the man I love, I kiss him good bye and he says 'See you later', every evening finds us in each other's arms. The night after Dumbledore's funeral, I have my head in his lap on the sofa and he softly strokes my hair.

'Are you ok?' I ask, because I can feel him slip away into this melancholic state of his.

He thinks for a moment. 'It's this finality about funerals. The ceremony itself didn't touch me and, frankly, I think Albus himself would have hated it. But now he is gone even physically, his body in a place no living person could inhabit. For me this has always been the final proof that the soul...the aliveness...really is gone.'

'Have you been to many funerals already?'

'A few. James and Lily's, Peter Pettigrew's, when everybody thought he had died, my mother's...'

'Why did she die so early?'

'She was ill, a muggle illness. Cancer, they call it.'

'Do you miss her?' My hand has found the hand that is not stroking.

He nods, then looks down at me fondly. 'I think she would have liked you very much.'

'Oh, good!' I grin back, ' 'cause elderly ladies have never given me the impression that I was their choice of a daughter-in-law... Maybe it's the hair.' I quickly morph it into an old-fashioned French plait and try for a meek expression.

'Stop it!' Remus laughs, 'this is despicable!' Giggling, I go back to pink and snuggle deeper into his lap.

While I sit at my desk the next day, struggling with a particularly obnoxious bit of paperwork, Kingsley's head appears on top of my cubicle.

'Tonks. Message for you.'

He's been out all morning and judging by the size of his yawn, he's about as exhausted as the rest of us. My own heart is beating faster though as I unroll the small piece of paper and recognise Remus's handwriting.

Meet me for a walk after work in Kent?

I can't help smiling, happy for the cubicle walls shielding me from view. I know exactly which place he is referring to, we came across that country lane by chance on one of our missions for the Order. It was such a beautiful place, full of peace, that it seemed unreal to us at the time.

He's there when I arrive, sitting under the big chestnut tree that overlooks green pastures sprinkled with cows. Only smiling at each other (is there a more heartwarming smile in this world than his?), we turn to walk along the lane, hand in hand. It's a most beautiful summer evening, swallows roam the sky and the brush buzzes with invisible insects. I just breathe and exist, so full of quiet happiness that it takes me a while before I realise that Remus has something on his mind.

'Is there anything the matter?' I prod him.

He takes a deep breath that waves away my happy feelings in a second.

'It's just…I spoke to Hestia the other day, you know she's got a brother-in-law in the Being division of Regulation and Control, and apparently the Ministry is about to launch yet another campaign against Being Creatures, only they seem to apply the term 'half-breeds' most of the time. Umbridge has been pushing it. New laws and regulations that legally forbid the integration of half-breeds into wizarding society. I asked Kingsley to have a look into the matter and he got back to me this morning. It's true, apparently.' His voice is hollow. My thoughts are racing, why have I not heard of this? Why hasn't Kingsley warned me something of the kind was going on?

'What do these laws include, then? Can it get any worse for you than it is?' I try to sound cheerful, but there's something cold creeping up my neck, as if I already know what he is about to say next.

'Amongst other things, they forbid marriage,' Remus says softly.

I stop in my tracks and look up at him, his eyes full of concern.

'It's probably better that way anyway,' he adds quickly, 'I just wanted to tell you so you're not…disappointed.'

'Hell yes, I'd be disappointed if we didn't marry!' I almost yell, 'so when is this law going to be implemented?'

'Kingsley said his source was quite vague about it,' Remus says, startled, 'but he guessed at the latest beginning of next month.'

'Next month? Is this even legal, laws popping up like daisies without any advance information?' I ask, incredulously. Remus only shrugs. 'It's not likely anything could influence the outcome, and they know it. Half-breeds aren't in much of a position to argue their case.'

'Well, let's get married tomorrow, then!' I kick at a pebble, choked by fury. Remus's gaze follows me as I send another pebble flying across the lane, tears rising in my eyes, frustration that the mere shadow of this law has already ruined the chance of a more romantic proposal.

'Nymphadora…' He comes after me.

'And don't call me by that name!'

'I can't call you by your last name, it's like being at Hogwarts,' he says and enfolds me in his arms, 'also, you feel much softer than 'Tonks'.'

I bury my teary face in his robes. Why can't things be easy for a change? I'd rather bite off my tongue than saying so, though, or he might go all 'See, I told you'.

'Call me whatever you like,' I sniffle into his shoulder, 'but can we please get married before this rotten law is passed?'

Incredibly enough, five days later we're husband and wife. Let's be honest, it wasn't how I had imagined I'd marry. Not that there have ever been specific ideas, but for sure I would have liked to have friends and family present for the occasion, a ceremony, a party. As things stand, my parents don't know, they don't even know we're together. We didn't even tell Order members beforehand lest they create a fuss. Remus obtained the papers from the Ministry and I'm not sure that was a good idea because he almost changed his mind twice in the process. On the other hand, I might just have murdered people who commented. Remus located the registrar furthest away from London, an old guy all the way up in Aberdeen. He was pretty nice about it even though he frowned when he noticed the seals in Remus's papers, and took his leave very quickly. The witnesses didn't have a clue, we had picked them up from the local pub and they were happy enough to cheer for us and be bought a round. So it actually didn't feel very real. The realest thing about it is the ring on my left annulary. Remus didn't want me to spend my savings on rings for the pair of us, but instead asked if I would mind taking his mother's wedding ring, producing a thin golden band on his palm. To my own surprise, I was really touched by this. It was, and I know that sounds a bit corny, like the ring spoke to me of love for Remus, a different kind of love, but love nonetheless. And I don't even have to alter the size, it just fits.

Remus has booked a room at the inn and makes a point of carrying me over the narrow threshold, almost knocking my head against the doorframe.

'Hey, is that the treatment I'm to expect from now on then?'

'I'm sorry, wife...but you're heavier than you look.' He drops me onto the bed.

'That's not vastly better, troll head!'

'It's too late now,' Remus is solemnly shaking is head, 'you'll have to bear with me, for better or worse.' He takes a deep breath and throws himself beside me.

'How do you feel?' he asks me, after we have exchanged a very long and gentle kiss.

'Weird,' I answer truthfully, 'it feels so unreal. I mean, we went from not talking to being married within, what, two weeks?'

'Close to two weeks, you're right. It is very rushed.' He throws me a doubtful glance.

'Now, wait,' I roll myself onto him, 'when I say it feels unreal, that's because how fast things have happened. The decision itself I've already taken about a year ago, so calling it rushed actually hurts my feelings here, as I rarely happen to act on impulses this...matured.'

A fond grin spreads across his face. 'So that makes me the impulsive venturer for a change…I like it.'

Lying on top of him, I can feel that what he would also like is to consume the marriage.

'Ok, impulsive venturer,' I press against him, 'show what else you dare doing…'

Afterwards we both doze off for a while, wrapped around each other. I wake up again first, the shadows that the summer evening is casting into our room have already stretched out. I feel Remus's warm body against mine and can see his wedding ring glistening in the evening sun. Remus Lupin, my husband. And I, Nymphadora Lupin, his wife. I'd like him to somehow feel the peace within me, so he can be assured that I mean it. Then my parents' faces swim into my mind's view. They'll accept it, eventually, but it will take a while. There's no kidding myself into believing that Mum will rush to embrace a werewolf son-in-law. My hopes rest on Dad recognising the kind of man that Remus is. I need to shift a leg and Remus stirs. He opens his eyes and looks at me dreamily.

'Dora…'

'Hello, sleepyhead', I kiss him on the forehead.

'Are you really my wife now or was this just a wonderful dream?'

'Welcome to reality, Mr Lupin.' I give him another kiss. 'Although I guess I won't be around much longer for you to enjoy if we don't get anything to eat soon. I'm starving.'

'Well, we can't have that', Remus sits up drowsily and looks for his clothes, 'would you like to stay here in the pub or go out into Aberdeen?'

Every Order member we tell in the subsequent days is thrilled for us. Although Remus tries his best not to hang a lantern on the fact that we're married, Mad-Eye insists on a toast and firewhiskey next time we meet and McGonagall even sends us an owl saying

Dear Mr and Mrs Lupin,

Congratulations on your marriage! As I hope you know, Albus would have been most happy about this news, and so am I. Wishing you every bit of luck and happiness,

Minerva

Bill Weasley, discharged from the Hospital Wing, seems truly sorry to not have been present for the ceremony and the Weasleys immediately invite us for dinner. Remus, however, isn't keen and keeps using night watches as an excuse to politely decline.

'I don't want a fuss,' he explains, 'besides, it doesn't seem right to celebrate given that you haven't even told your parents yet. They shouldn't hear it from somebody else.'

'Still, we can't refuse their invitation, after all the Weasleys have done for us. They're our friends, and our friends want to be happy for us, Remus. That's a nice thing, it's what friends do, don't you see?' He shrugs.

'Arthur sent a memo today at work, they invite us again for Tuesday night. I really think we should go. Come on, don't be a party pooper.'

'Go, then. I will be away anyway.'

'Where?' I start to be really annoyed.

'It's the full moon on Tuesday.'

I could smack myself, how stupid of me not to be aware of the lunar calendar, after a year of practically knowing it by heart.

'Where will you go, Grimmauld Place?' He used the cellar for his transformations a lot before living with the werewolves, Sirius would block the entrance and nobody was allowed to stay for the night except him.

'No, Mad-Eye still wants nobody in the house until he's done more checks. There's a place up north that I've used a lot in the past, very remote and safe.'

It's like the room has become a degree colder, or the light has changed, I can't explain it, but I'm suddenly anxious.

'Safe for yourself as well?'

Remus shrugs, 'There hasn't been a problem in the past.'

'Where is it?'

He considers me for a moment and I feel the invisible barrier sliding between us, like a pane of glass. It hasn't been absent long enough for me not to immediately recognise it again.

'It's far up in the Highlands and it's safe, there is no need for you to know the exact location.'

He's said it calmly, but I don't like the finality in his voice.

'Fine,' I answer, 'and what is it? A barn? A cave?'

'It's an abandoned shack, possibly once used by shepherds, far away from the next village. I hide my things there.'

'What, like, your wand?!' I hear my voice rising. 'And then, what do you do then?'

Remus has gripped the back of the chair and I can see his knuckles turn white.

'Then I walk as far as I can before the moon comes up.'

I explode.

'Unarmed?! Mad-Eye will have your balls for this, you know that? We're in the middle of a war, in case you haven't noticed, and more than one party would love to meet you wandless on an evening stroll!'

'It's nobody's business where I go, as long as I don't harm anybody,' he snaps.

'Let me at least wait for you in that shack,' I suggest, 'and look for you in the morning.' I walk towards him with open arms, sorry for my outburst, but instead of his warm body, I find my upper arms in a tight grip.

'Can we be very clear,' his voice is cold, 'that you go nowhere near me on a full moon? Because if I find you, I will not hesitate for one second before I kill you.'

His words are ringing in the silence that ensues. Remus loosens the painful grip on my arms and turns away, swallowing hard. He walks across the room and stops at a window.

'I'm an Auror, Remus,' I say slowly from where I stand, 'Risk assessment has been a throrough part of my training. Don't mistake me for some young bimbo, I know what you'd do to me while transformed, but I also know you'll be staggering across the open country the next morning, exhausted, defenseless and very visible. And once you reach this shack, are you even fit enough to Apparate?'

He remains silent.

'There. Now, if you were an Auror on my team and in this state refused to be given cover, I'd sack you for irresponsible behaviour.'

'I'm not an Auror on your team.'

'No. You're my husband.'

I turn and leave the room, banging the bedroom door shut.