Author's Notes:

Hi everyone! Sorry this update is so late. This weekend was absolutely crazy. We ended up getting to go to our cousins' wedding despite all of the restrictions in our area. I really thought they weren't going to be able to have it so I hadn't planned on going and, well, then I had to scramble because I'm terrible at planning for social things apparently. Mostly because so much family came into town and I needed to be hostess for everyone. I also had to do my first MBE practice exam (the multiple choice portion of the PA bar exam) and that was just—it was fucking insane. But I did pretty good for it! above the curve. Anyway, I hope the content of this chapter makes up for the lateness!

Beer of the Week: Yuengling Octoberfest! This Marzen Lager is both smooth and malty. It has a nice roasted taste and the crispness of a traditional lager. It's definitely worth picking up if you see it.

To answer everyone's question: the W.O.M.B.A.T. exams are the entrance exams for wizards who don't have a seat on the Wizengamot but want one. It stands for Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test. Apparently muggles could also take this exam! Fun fact from Pottermore.

Reviews: ProfessorMarauder: Caught that, did you? I thought it was a nice circle for Draco to take. I guess we'll have to wait and see how James and Sirius can affect legislation, won't we? Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to take a look at this story. I want to take the time to really think about what to do about the Lycanthrope. I don't want a cure but I also want it to make sense since he has so many resources in my AU that he didn't have in cannon. Midnitewanderer: I personally would withhold your judgments on Blaise yet as I haven't fully decided on which way he's going to end up since I have so many options! Right now he's a bit of a prick though. I thought that giving Draco Harry's line was a really nice circle for his character—I'm glad everyone liked it! It just felt right. YES. SHE WAS LITERALLY HERBERT! Plus the singing. You still deserve the shout out for giving me the idea though!

Potter671: Deadwood sounds pretty cool! And not too long after you commented about it it showed up as a city in Supernatural (I'm rewatching the series (again)). I'm glad you had a good time! I'm so excited to get to the stone, I have some awesome ideas! And I had no issues with your review being split in half, it gave me two emails to read instead of one! Smallwjl: This was honestly one of the best reviews I've ever had. It's so kind that I'm just going to quote you because it just—wow. Thank you! "I'm not sure how you've managed to completely change the dynamic of the golden trio to include Draco (and Neville) but literally maintain there exact endearing qualities. Hermione would 100% still scold them, Harry would definitely still not back down, just all of the small quirks should feel forced but this feels so effortless and real." PunksterNL: I hope I address your issues about Harry's motivation in this chapter! I didn't realize I had left that out. It was definitely necessary for plot purposes (fluffy and all that) but I do see your point. As for Hinny, ask and you shall receive! Thanks for the beer suggestion! Guest: Thanks I guess? Glad you liked the chapter.

Thanks everyone! Please enjoy this update!

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Bugger That

Tonks wrung her hands together as she paced back and forth in her living room. Remus had invited her to come over to his suite at Hogwarts to finish up their translations this evening and she was worried that tonight would be her last chance to convince him to go on a date with her.

She had had a crush on Remus for as long as she had known him—there was something about his brooding, quiet nature that intrigued her. And then when he got to talking on a subject he enjoyed and loved; she could listen to him all day when he goes on about hinkypunks. The way that his eyes lightened, like little pools of molten gold, just entranced her.

"Bugger," She whispered harshly to herself as she paced. She balled a fist up and found herself nearly stomping her foot like some insolent teenager as she thought about Remus more and more.

Soon she found her feet moving again as he body resumed its pacing. Angry now, she forced herself to move towards her bedroom so she could get dressed. As she stared in her closet she wondered what the best way to go about this would be—sexy and revealing or her normal self? She's tried making him jealous before so she knew that wouldn't work, but maybe enticing him might? She knew his self-restraint was strong, but she wasn't sure how strong it would be against her.

Tonks was aware that Remus was, at the very least, attracted to her because Sirius had dropped the dime on him the last time he visited her. She looked up in shock, a mischievous glint in her eye as a plan formed itself in her mind.

She dashed back to her living room, barely throwing herself on the ground as she grabbed the floo powder. In her excitement, Tonks accidently knocked the pot onto the floor and the floo powder spilled everywhere—the green granules getting into her carpet.

Tonks sighed as she waved her wand and repaired the pot and put the powder back into the pot. She was sure she missed a few specks and they would find their way into her shoes over the next few weeks. That shit can be worse than glitter sometimes. She sighed and threw some floo powder into the fireplace and poked her head in.

She felt as if her head was spinning a million miles a minute as it traveled to her desired location. Once her head stopped spinning and the ash cleared, Tonks blinked a few times to orient herself.

Tonks found herself looking out of the fireplace in the library at Potter Manor. From her position on the floor she could see Cirri dusting the books on the shelves.

"Hey, Cirri, could you get Sirius for me? Is he home?"

Cirri jumped in surprise and turned to look at the fireplace and smiled, "Ms. Tonks! It is nice to be seeing you again! Sirius is upstairs. I will go and get him for you."

A few minutes later Sirius came bounding into the room with a knowing grin on his face, "Well hello favorite cousin. What brings you to call upon little old me?"

Tonks rolled her eyes, "I need—I can't believe I'm saying this—I need your advice."

Sirius let out a low whistle and sat down in front of the fire, "You need my advice? Oh, why Tonks, what do you need my advice for?"

"Because you're the most serious person I know," Tonks said sarcastically, "Because you know Remus well and I trust you."

"What ever do you need to know about my Moony-Moo? Do you like him?"

"Of course I do you asshat. Now how do I convince him to get over whatever complex he's got going on and give me a chance?"

Sirius shrugged, "I don't think he's ever going to get over his fur—his issues. He really thinks he has good reason for them. It's always been a problem—he claims he doesn't want to burden anyone with them."

"You mean the fact that he's a werewolf?"

Sirius looked down at Tonks in shock, "How do you—"

"Please, it's not that well-kept of a secret. You think I didn't notice that anytime I came over around or on the full moon he was ill or missing? Or that, during school, we had a substitute professor during the full moon? It wasn't hard to put together. Especially when I studied werewolves in Defense Against the Dark Arts in Hogwarts and auror training."

"Right. I always forget how smart you are. And that you had Remus as a professor in school. And you really don't care?"

Tonks shook her head, "No. I know some people get weirded out about that kind of stuff but—I just don't care. A disease doesn't make the person and it doesn't change how I feel. I've had a crush on him for ages now."

Sirius gave Tonks a genuine and encouraging smile, "Ok, here's what you need to do."

~ID~

Later that evening Remus found himself once again pouring over his translations. He had this feeling that he was getting close to something important, but he wasn't sure what. He had been doing immense amounts research into horcruxes ever since James' last conversation with Dumbledore, specifically on how they're said to function and how they're used and destroyed.

This most recent translation was originally written by a Romanian scholar in the dark arts who had created the first successful horcrux in Europe. It gave more extensive and intimate instructions on how to create and use a horcrux. Within the writing Remus had discovered a potion that could be used to give the wizard who made the horcrux their body back. It detailed a gruesome potion that required body parts from the wizard's father, servant, and enemy as well as several other, rarer ingredients.

Remus settled down on the squashy couch in his office, a hot mocha in his hand as he lifted the writings to continue his work. He took a long drink from his mug, savoring the sweet, white mocha and the creamy goodness that was his coffee. He felt the warmth of it radiating through his body, the caffeine rushing into his blood as he closed his eyes and relished the moment. It was times like these that reminded Remus why he loved his work so much—his research was not only important but he deeply enjoyed discovering what the mysterious writings depicted.

Remus spent the majority of the evening on his sofa enjoying his mocha from the mug Harry had given him last Christmas. It was charmed to constantly refill with the liquid that was placed inside of it using a refilling charm as it got low. It was also charmed to keep the liquid at Remus' preferred temperature so it was always the perfect sip. It was because he was so absorbed in his work that he was surprised by his fireplace lighting up and Tonks stumbling out.

Remus pulled off his reading glasses and held them as he looked at Tonks' figure straightening, the skin tight black pants and corset top she had on accentuating her curves and breasts. Remus swallowed hard has he caught sight of her dark purple hair tumbling in waves down her back, a tattoo of a quill running down the back of her neck and onto her shoulder. The quill was continuously and magically writing the same three words over and over, "I am me."

Tonks bent over, making sure that her ass was prominently displayed to Remus as she adjusted her knee high, black boots. She smiled when she heard him whisper behind her.

"Nymphadora?" Remus breathed, "What are you—what are you doing here? And why—why are you dressed like that?"

Tonks looked back over her shoulder at Remus and smiled wickedly, "What do you mean, Remus? I just came to pick up our translations before going out to a muggle club."

Remus' eyes darkened at her words, a snarl nearly on his lips before he caught himself, "You're going to a muggle club looking like that? And when exactly did you get a tattoo?"

"What exactly is that supposed to mean? I've had this tattoo since I was 16, if you must know." Tonks asked angrily.

"Six—but you're only 18 now!"

"I'm still failing to understand what the problem is."

Remus' eyes flashed a deep, dark gold as he took a moment to look at Tonks before standing up an snatching their work off of his desk and held it out to her, "Here, take it."

Tonks took the papers from him, disappointment in her heart before another idea dawned on her, "Thank you," she said as she tossed her hair over her bare shoulder, exposing the round tops of her succulent breasts, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm due to meet Derik at the club."

"Who the hell is this Derik bloke?" Remus spat at Tonks.

"What do you care? He's a muggle I met at the bar—we're going out dancing."

"A mug—that you just—dancing?" Remus spluttered, "Nymphadora—"

"How many times have I told you. Don't. Call me. Nymphadora."

Remus squared himself in front of Tonks, his eyes flashing darkly, "If I recall correctly, while you were my student you didn't exactly give appropriate attention when I called you 'Ms. Tonks.' I'll continue calling you Nymphadora, thanks."

Tonks looked into Remus' golden eyes and felt herself quaking in her boots as she replied, a wicked grin on her face, "If you'll excuse me, professor, I have a date at the club."

Not knowing what compelled him, or why he at any point thought it was a good idea, Remus reached out a hand and grabbed Tonks by the upper arm, knowing he couldn't let her leave. The image of Tonks meeting some handsome and mysterious stranger in a dark club enraged him, angering the wolf that was deep within him. He heard himself growl at the thought before he knew where the sound came from.

As he growled he turned Tonks back towards him and looked into her eyes where he saw what he thought was perhaps fear. Then he caught the scent of her arousal as he flushed and all his blood drained to his groin. He realized too late how close Tonks' waist was to his hip, noticing only when he saw the shock and deepening of arousal on her face.

"Let go of my arm, Remus," Tonks said, her voice deep and sultry as her darkened eyes bore into Remus' golden ones.

Remus looked down at his hand on Tonks' arm and admired how her light skin looked so striking against his sun-kissed hand. His eyes traveled from her arm to her smooth, white breasts, mere inches away from his face, held up solely by the faux black corset she was wearing as a top. It was only when he felt the smoothness of her right arm under his hand that he realized he was holding her tightly, closer to him than he had ever allowed her to be.

"Nymphadora," Remus breathed. Tonks could smell the white chocolate on his breath from the coffee he had been drinking, "Why did you come here?"

Her scent was becoming overwhelming, it was filling every part of him as they stood there, eyes locked together. He could see her eyes continuing to darken even as he felt himself hardening more at the idea of her being here, with him, at his mercy and not with the mysterious muggle, Derik.

"I told you," she breathed, "To pick up our work before going to the club."

Remus ran a hand down her side, savoring the soft, creaminess of the small bit of her exposed midriff, "Dressed like this? Something tells me you had ulterior motifs."

Tonks shuttered involuntarily at the feel of Remus' warm, calloused hands running over her midriff, "This—this is what muggles wear when they go out dancing," she said, almost pleading.

"Dancing?" Remus asked as he bent down to sniff at her neck, his nose and lips running along her soft flesh. He felt her tense for a moment before she relaxed again, "I can take you dancing."

Remus pressed his hips against her, nearly groaning at the pressure he felt. He could feel her trembling where she stood, she smelled amazing. He carefully, teasingly, ran his lips along where the base of her neck met her shoulders. He felt her breath hitch in her throat under his lips.

"I bet you could," Tonks gasped as she tried to pull away, "But I have a date."

Remus pulled her closer again, his hand running down her back until it rested just above her ass, "Right, right. Can't forget about what's-his-name."

"Who?" Tonks asked as she momentarily forgot what her cover for the outfit had been. She was desperately trying to remember the tips that Sirius had given her earlier that day, "Oh, right, the guy I'm bringing back to my place this evening."

Anger and jealousy flared up in Remus as he held Tonks roughly in his arms. She could feel him stiffen against her as he pulled her closer. If she wasn't mistaken, she thought she could hear him growling deep in his throat. She looked up into his face and saw the desire there, making her stomach twist into knots as the excitement for what she hoped would happen next built within her. And the next thing she knew she felt his hands grip her tightly, pulling her in close by the waist and fisting in her hair as Remus drug Tonks' mouth to his, finally giving in to everything he had told himself he wouldn't.

And Remus forgot; he forgot his reasons for keeping himself from her, that she was too young, that she shouldn't have to deal with his lycanthrope. Everything slid away as he kissed her plump lips. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he registered that she tasted slightly of the strawberries she had had earlier that day.

He couldn't get enough of her. He had denied himself this pleasure so long he hadn't realized how starving he was for her. Growling, he trailed his lips down her jaw and neck, licking and sucking on all of the soft, delicate skin he found there, drinking in her scent and flavor.

He could hear her quiet moans as he licked her ear and growled, "Is this what you wanted? Was this your plan all along?"

Tonks' breath hitched in her throat as she wound her fingers into Remus' golden hair and drug his lips back to hers, sliding her tongue into his mouth. She felt his hand slide down to her hip and grip her tightly, digging his fingers into the thin fabric separating them from each other. She felt him harden against her when he realized she wasn't wearing any knickers this evening. Tonks smiled against his lips as she felt him and pushed herself closer to him and pulled her lips away so that, when she spoke, they would lightly graze against Remus', "That's my little secret, isn't it?"

Remus growled again and feasted on her neck as his hand ran back up her body to massage her breast. He could feel her nipple harden under the black, lacy fabric, "Tell me," he demanded.

Tonks gasped as she felt Remus begin to undo the ribbon holding her shirt together, "Make me."

Remus growled and rushed his lips against Tonks', his hands busy at work pulling at the ties of Tonks' shirt. Tonks let out a primal groan as her corset opened and her breasts spilled into Remus' waiting, callused hands. The feel of his rough hands rubbing against her soft flesh made her knees weak; she flung her arm around Remus' neck to hold herself up as he bent down and took her nipple into his mouth. Remus sucked and licked her nipple, savoring Tonks' exquisite flavor and her warmth.

As he pleasured Tonks with his mouth, Remus slid his other hand down her bare back and between her legs, stroking the warmth he found there with his fingers. And when Tonks let out her loudest moan yet Remus thought he might burst. He looked back into her eyes, and growled, "Tell me."

Remus watched Tonks' face as he stroked her, the thin fabric between her legs growing wetter with each movement of his hand. He took pleasure in watching her facial expressions range from shock to pleasure to surprise as she attempted to respond to him. "Yes, it was," she gasped as she waived her hand towards the office door.

Remus heard a locking sound, internally thankful that Tonks had had the clarity and sense to lock the door and silence the room as he grabbed her wrist and threw her onto the couch. As he crawled over her, he snarled, "Of course it was. I should have known it would come to this. I can't—I can't keep resisting."

Fisting his hand in her hair again, Remus pulled her back, exposing her neck to him so he could feast on her neck while she unbuttoned his shirt, baring his chest and running her hands along his naked torso. As she pushed his shirt off of him, Tonks pushed her hips towards his, pressing herself against him. He could feel how hot, how wet she was as he pushed himself against her.

"Dora," he growled, "I'm going to take your pants off and then I'm going to fuck you into next week. Tell me to stop."

Tonks pressed herself against him harder, arching her back as she cried, "Do it. I dare you!"

She began working at the fastenings of his pants, attempting to tug them off of him. Remus simply gripped her wrists and moved them above her head before ripping her pants off. As she heard the tearing fabric, the excitement of the moment filled her belly.

"Tell me to stop," Remus repeated to her, almost begging her to make him stop. Tonks simply looked him in the eyes and smiled before leaning up to kiss him again, coaxing him onward.

That's when Remus completely gave in and plunged into her warmth.

~ID~

Gin,

You won't believe what we found here at school. Ok, so, I have to tell you the whole story. Hermione, Ron, Draco, Neville, and I went to the trophy room at midnight last night to have a duel with Zabini. Zabini is this ponce here at school who thinks he runs the joint just because of who his family is. Real full of himself if you ask me. And don't ask me why I agreed to it because I don't know. Something in me just couldn't let him taunt me or make me feel like he could just—I don't know. He was just acting so arrogant, you know? I just wanted to get a one up on him. After all those prank wars with my dads, I thought I could.

Anyway, so we show up for this duel and Zabini is a no show and the school caretaker, Filch, shows up and we run. As we're running we end up in the forbidden third floor corridor—inside is this huge dog with three heads! It's guarding something, Gin, we just don't know what or why. I mean, where do you even get one of these dogs? I wish you were here with us, you'd know what to do about all of this.

WAIT. EVEN BETTER THAN THAT. I MADE THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM! All thanks to Zabini. It's actually why we ended up going to the trophy room. He had stolen Neville's Rememberall and I flew after him during flying class to get it. Anyway, Nana saw the whole thing and took me from class to meet the captain. I had my first practice the other night and it was brilliant. Dad, Uncle Remus, Uncle Padfoot, and Nana all pooled their money and got me a Nimbus 2000. It flies like a dream, Gin. When I come home for Christmas you can fly it if you want. I won't tell Mrs. Weasley if you don't!

How have things been at the Burrow since we last wrote? Mrs. Weasley leaving you alone at all? I'm going to write to dad to see if you guys can all come over Christmas day to celebrate. I'm sure he won't mind having all of you. You're basically family.

Please write soon—I miss you.

Love,

Harry

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called from somewhere downstairs.

Ginny rolled her eyes as she folded the letter from Harry back up and slid it into the box under her bed before headed downstairs, "Coming!"

She made her way downstairs quickly, taking the turns at almost a swing as her hand slid down the railing. Ginny quickly made her way into the kitchen where she promptly squealed with delight at the sight of Charlie Weasley standing in the kitchen at the Burrow. Ginny dashed over and wrapped her arms and legs around Charlie as she started rambling on about how excited she was to see him.

"Hey Ray! How you doing kiddo?"

"Better now that you're here! What are you doing back so soon? Mum said that you were super busy in Romania with the dragons."

"I was but dad owled me about how sad you've been since everyone's been out of the house so I thought I'd come for a visit to cheer you up. I thought I could take you to a muggle musical. The one in town is doing a pretty cool one about the French revolution. I've heard the music is amazing."

"That would be awesome! I just have to send Harry a letter first, really quickly I promise!"

"Still talking to Harry, eh?" Charlie asked as he elbowed Ginny in the ribs.

Ginny blushed, "Yeah but we're just friends, Charlie. I'm only ten, you know."

Charlie ruffled Ginny's hair despite her protests and scooted her out the kitchen door, "Go write your love letter! I'll be down here when you're done!"

Ginny smiled and ran up to her room and quickly wrote her response letter back to Harry.

Harry,

That's absolutely crazy! And you have no idea what that thing is hiding? Charlie came to visit me today—I'll see if he knows anything about huge, three headed dogs. I bet he does, Charlie knows everything about animals.

You know I want to fly on your Nimbus! I heard it flies like a dream. Your dad has one, doesn't he? I read in Quidditch Monthly that all of Portree got Nimbuses for the World Cup. I wish I could come see your first match—I bet it's a good one. You'll be amazing, Harry.

I can't write much because Charlie is waiting for me. He's taking me to see a muggle musical about the French revolution! I'll write again soon, I promise. I miss you guys so much and I can't wait to see you at Christmas time. I'll write later with anything I find out!

Love,

Ginny

Ginny quickly rolled up her letter and attached it to Hedwig's leg and sent her off before running back down to Charlie.

Charlie and Ginny thoroughly enjoyed the musical they saw. Ginny found herself so deeply engrossed in the music that she hadn't even realized how quickly the performance went. At the end of the show, she was still singing the Song of Angry Men. Charlie even bought her the cassette of the music from the show so she could listen to it at the Burrow.

"So, who was your favorite character?"

"Well, I liked Cosette," Ginny said as she thought out loud, "But I also really liked Jean Valjean."

"I kind of liked Éponine myself."

Ginny laughed, "That's because you thought she was fit."

"I mean, she was attractive. I just thought she was the best character," Charlie replied casually.

"Hey Charlie," Ginny started, ignoring his comment, "Have you ever heard of a creature that looks like a huge dog with three heads?"

Charlie looked taken aback and concerned as he replied, "Well, yeah. They're rare, though. Why? How have you heard of them?"

Ginny shrugged, "I came across it in an old book. What do you know about them? Do people usually use them to guard things?"

"Er, well, it sounds like you're describing a Cerberus. It's a Greek animal; a dog with three heads. And, yeah, they're traditionally used as guard animals because of how vicious they can be. There's only about ten in the world but if you ever come across one of those you should turn tail and run the other way."

"Right. It was in a book I read about Greek mythology, I think. It guarded a gateway, right?"

"That's where it's said the Cerberus comes from, but it's just a myth like most creature origins that the muggles come up with."

Ginny made a mental note to herself to remember to send Harry another letter with that information. Surely he could look up Cerberus' more thoroughly at Hogwarts with all those magical books in the library.

Ginny and Charlie spent most of the rest of the evening together discussing anything and everything they could think of. Ginny got a reprieve from having to help Molly in the kitchen because Charlie took her out to dinner at the local Italian place she liked to go to. He knew it was her favorite restaurant and he liked to take her whenever he could. It had become their spot over the last three years that they had been having their Rey and Char dates. In fact, Ginny's favorite picture of the two of them was from that restaurant. She had it framed on her wall next to a photo of her and Bill at a baseball game.

At the end of the night Ginny was sad to see Charlie go back to Romania but she knew it wouldn't be for long. He had talked about seeing her again soon and Ginny just couldn't wait.

Before she went to bed she wrote about the night both in a second letter to Harry and in the journal that Bill had bought her for her 9th birthday. It helped her in the evening to reflect on everything that had happened during the day so she could sleep easier at night. And, as she rolled up the parchment she wrote for Harry and laid it on the end of her night table, Ginny was excited to let Harry know everything that had happened.

End Notes:

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