Author's Notes:

*WARNING: DISCUSSIONS AND IMAGERY OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT DEPICTED WTIHIN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER*

*I do not own or have the rights to the Harry Potter Series or Tremors the movie. Any appearances or adaptions herein are for the purposes of fanfiction*

Hi everyone! Sorry for the confusing, and multiple, updates last week! I don't know what was going on with the server—for some reason it wasn't showing that chapter 46 existed literally anywhere except in the listing of how many chapters ID has. I emailed the people who run the website, tweeted them, and everything to no avail. I guess it finally popped up though. So, thank you to those of you who read it! and to those of you who waited until now to get to it, thank you for reading it too!

Beer of the week: Schneider Weisse (G. Schneider & Sohn) Original German Hefe-Weizen Ale. This literally has to be the BEST Hefeweizen I've ever had to drink. It's slightly sweet with a creamy-mouthfeel with all the perfect flavors and aroma of banana bread. I absolutely, 100% suggest trying this beer. Plus, it's nearly 17 oz of beer! What a steal.

Reviews: Midnitewanderer: I'm glad you liked my Hinny moment! There's definitely more to come! But I can assure you that a full-on Hinny relationship probably will not come to fruition until at least 3rd year. And as I'm only halfway through PS, that could be a while. And thank you! I'm not TOO worried about honeymoon weight since we did so much walking in Disney, but I'm sure I gained some lol. David Fishwick: Thank you! Ask and you shall receive! Smallwjl: Nope! Jean is 100% happily and blissly in love with Rick. There will definitely be a close friendship though!

Iwik: I definitely didn't take your comment about the Malfoys that way—I was more so trying to explain how I thought of them for my story in particular. A bit of background info if you would. And I 100% agree that Narcissa could do so much more for Draco—she really could. But! You also have to remember that she was also raised the way Draco was (or assumedly so) and she witnessed firsthand what happens to family who do not follow the pureblood ways (i.e. Andromeda being completely cut out). She definitely COULD leave, but that would mean leaving everything she has ever known behind. And I just don't think, right now anyway, she's brave enough to make that choice. As for Hinny, I won't give those secrets away too easily—you'll have to wait and see! Potter671: Thank you! I can't wait to play around with the mirror concept and get more Hinny interaction.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments! You guys really keep me going with this story!

Update Schedule: Once per week.

Thank you and please enjoy the latest chapter of Ignoring Destiny!

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Bare, Naked Truth

Harry rolled over in his warm and comfortable bed. He had tossed and turned the night before, unable to get any solid hours of sleep. He wasn't sure why being back in his four-poster at Hogwarts caused this lack of sleep but something in the castle felt off—it was unsettling. He sighed and opened his eyes to stare at the blurry, darkened ceiling. He watched as his eyes played tricks on him, showing dark, moving swirls in the air. He watched as those swirls twisted and spun in front of him.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there watching the colors swirl around above him. Eventually he determined that sleep would elude him for the remainder of the night and sat up to look at the watch on his bedside table. The face read four A.M. He looked wistfully at his pillows, wishing that sleep would take him again despite knowing that wouldn't happen. He quickly swung out of bed and padded off to the bathroom to grab a shower.

He showered quickly, not bothering to savor the warmth of the water before he turned it off and stepped out. He quickly dressed himself and stood looking at the mirror, wondering what he would do next. He knew it was too early to head to breakfast, and he didn't have any homework he could work on—not that he wanted to. He supposed he could go downstairs and read in the common room.

Harry quickly made his way back to his bed and his trunk so he could grab a muggle book. He was debating something horror or maybe a romance. As he debated he reached his trunk he noticed a oddly shaped, brown package sitting there. It seemed to be waiting for him. Harry looked around the room, wondering who could have left the package there so quickly. He knew it hadn't been there when he left to get a shower, so someone had to have left it while he was gone.

He reached out to take the package but his hand stopped just short of touching the mysterious package. Why would someone have left this? Is it really meant to be for him? Was this an accident? Is it dangerous? Harry shook his head, that was a silly thought—who would try to endanger him and why would they do it through an anonymous package left at his trunk? He carefully picked up the package and, after making sure no one else was awake, he slid the wrapping away from the contents of the package, revealing a water-like fabric which spilled out to the floor.

Curious, Harry picked up the pile of fabric and held it up. Other than the texture, it didn't seem like there was anything overly special about the fabric. He let it slide through his fingers as he admired the feel of it in his hands. As he looked at it he realized it was a cloak. He decided to try it on and see if it fit—he wasn't sure when he would ever have the opportunity to wear something this luxurious. He walked to a mirror and felt the cloak fall around his body as he slid it on and his eyes widened in shock as his entire body disappeared from view.

The invisibility cloak! Harry thought in surprise. He had, of course, heard stories about the invisibility cloak during his childhood, but his father wasn't sure what happened to it over the years. After the cottage at Godric's Hollow was destroyed and James was in a coma for two years, it had seemingly been lost to time. He wondered briefly if he should call his dad and tell him about this discovery but then he thought more about it. And, as he looked in the mirror, he remembered another mirror that showed him an image of himself, one he would like to view again.

It had taken some time but Harry finally found his way back to the empty classroom. The plan had formed in his mind so quickly that he had already been leaving his dormitory before it really registered what he was going to do. And now that he was there and the mirror was so close at hand, he was excited with his choice.

Harry silently walked up to the mirror, wondering if he would be able to see the image in it's glassy surface if he left the cloak on. As luck would have it, he could. He watched in excitement and elation as the image appeared before him. The dark haired man was, once again, smiling down at the infant in the red-head's arms. His own green eyes looked at him from the familiar, yet unfamiliar face and the man smiled as he put his arms around the woman.

Harry stared intently at the woman. Despite her face being obscured, Harry knew that she was a beautiful woman. Her hair shielded her face as it did the last time he saw her, tumbling down her shoulders and breasts in waves of fire and embers. She leaned down again to gently kiss the small, black-haired baby on its scar-less head.

The scene warmed Harry. The idea that he could possibly have a future where death and Voldemort didn't loom over him was a concept he had never imagined or thought about. As he thought about that potential and unlikely future, he saw the image adjust, showing him in the background the black-robbed body of who he assumed was Voldemort. Having never seen him in his life, he wouldn't recognize him without being told who he is.

Harry was completely oblivious to the passage of time while he sat on the cold stone floor in the abandoned classroom. He only realized that any time had passed when the room began to lighten and brighten. Eventually he realized that he would need to head to breakfast and truly begin his day.

Harry found himself sitting listlessly at breakfast a few minutes later. He picked at his food as the room filled up around him. It wasn't long until his friends were seated around him, chattering away about school work. As they talked, Harry thought, and as he thought, he knew what he wanted to do.

As the great hall emptied, Harry hung back and waited for Draco. Hermione and Ron turned to look at them, waiting for them to follow, "You guys go ahead. I need to talk to Draco about stuff for my dad, anyway."

Hermione and Ron nodded and turned to head to class. Draco frowned as he caught up to Harry, falling easily in step with his friend, "What's up, Harry? I just talked to James about the proposal, so I know you're full of it."

"Yeah," Harry said as he ran his fingers through his hair, distracted, "It's about something else. I found this—thing—in an old classroom. I thought about telling Ron and Hermione but—I think you'll understand why I like it so much. They won't understand what's so interesting about it. Can we meet after curfew tonight to go see it?"

"How are we going to avoid being caught? We were nearly caught when we went out for that lame midnight duel Zabini set us up with."

"Don't worry. I've got us covered. I'll meet you at the entrance to Ravenclaw tower at midnight."

Draco looked at Harry skeptically before nodding, "Alright, I'll come out. But if you don't show up I'm going to go back to bed. I can't risk getting into trouble with Father being the way he has been."

By midnight Draco was so unsure that Harry was going to show up that he debated calling him on his mirror. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the concern that, if he did, he would be the cause of Harry being caught out of bed after curfew.

As soon as his watch displayed midnight, Draco stepped out of his common room and into the hallway. When he didn't immediately see Harry, he decided he would wait for 5 minutes. He figured, if he were caught, he could claim that he wasn't sure how to answer the riddle and he had been stuck outside the room since curfew. Then he nearly had a heart attack as Harry suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Bloody hell!" Draco said loudly as he caught sight of Harry in the dark, "Where the hell did you come from?"

Harry quickly shushed Draco, his eyes wide, "Be quiet. We could get caught. Get under here!" Harry held up his cloak to let Draco under.

Draco eyed the cloak suspiciously, "What is it?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "It's an invisibility cloak. Look!" Harry dropped the cloak over him, immediately disappearing from Draco's view. Harry quickly lifted the cloak again and ushered for Draco to get underneath it with him.

Draco didn't argue this time. Instead, he ran under the fabric and watched, wide-eyed as the cloth fell around them, obscuring them from the view of anyone or anything that may encounter them.

Now that Harry remembered the way, it didn't take him and Draco long to get back to the empty classroom and the mirror. As soon as they entered the sanctuary of the room, Harry ran to the mirror and looked into its glass. He sighed in relief when the image appeared to him again. He smiled at the woman who's hair obscured her face. He wondered briefly why her hair always covered her face, why she was constantly looking at the baby instead of at his older self.

"Can't you see them?" Harry asked Draco as he looked into the glass.

Draco walked slowly over to where Harry stood and peered into the mirror, seeing only himself and Harry in its reflection, "See who? I see us if that's what you mean."

"No. See them. It's me, but older. And I'm standing with a woman who has this—this beautiful hair. It's like fire; all deep reds and oranges. And it falls in her face while she looks at the baby. And Voldemort's in the background, dead. It's the perfect future," Harry turned to look at Draco, "It's a future I never knew was possible."

Draco smiled sadly, "I can't see anything in the mirror, but I never knew you didn't think there was a future after Voldemort comes back. Of course you have one, Harry. I know you'll win in the end despite any obstacles that may be in your way. But—I still don't see anything."

Harry pulled Draco so he was standing in the middle of the front of the mirror and stepped out of the view himself, "There, look at it properly. Do you see it now? Do you see her?"

Draco looked into the mirror and saw himself standing with his parents. They were smiling and holding him close. He had on his Ravenclaw school robes and his father seemed—proud of him. His mother was brushing his hair like she used to do when he was young and his father was smiling at him as he held Draco close. There was no hint in either of his parents' faces that they were disappointed or angry with him. They both seemed—proud. They seemed like they loved Draco and truly wanted him there with them. Draco smiled at the scene, tears in his eyes as he spoke.

"I—I see myself with my parents and—and they're proud of me. They don't care that I wasn't sorted into Slytherin and they love me. I'm—I'm happy."

Harry frowned, "What about the woman with red hair? Do you see her?"

Draco shook his head, "What is this mirror? Why is it showing us these things?"

"I don't know. Move over, let me look again."

"No, you had your chance last night. Give me another minute—I'll probably never see my parents looking this proudly at me again."

Harry nodded, understanding Draco's fascination with the mirror, "Fine. But we switch off every 5 minutes."

Draco nodded absently as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. After several minutes, they heard someone moving outside of the classroom. Harry managed to throw the cloak over them just in time for them to see a pair of luminous eyes wander into the room. Mrs. Norris scanned the room, looking for the source of the noise she had clearly heard. Harry and Draco stood still, both wondering the same thing—did the cloak work on cats? After a few minutes, she turned and left the room.

"This isn't safe—she might have gone to get Filch, let's go," Harry said as he tugged on Draco's arm. It was the hardest thing they had to do, but Harry and Draco managed to pull themselves away from the allure of the mirror and leave the room.

~ID~

Harry spent the entire next day thinking about the mirror hidden in the empty classroom. He was trying to undo the enigma that it presented, trying to determine why it showed he and Draco two different scenes. And why were they so specific? How did it know what certain people looked like or what to display? He was sure there was some information about this mirror he was missing that would explain its magic to him.

He decided to go back to the mirror again that evening by himself. He sat next to Draco that evening at dinner. While Ron and Hermione bickered over some insignificant piece of information from class, they whispered a quiet and argumentative conversation.

"Let's go to the library tonight," Draco urged.

"No."

"How about Hagrid's?"

"No. You can go though."

"I know you're planning to go back tonight," Draco hissed, "Don't go back. You'll get caught. Even with that cloak. We've had too many close shaves as it is."

Harry shook his head. He wanted to go and he would—Draco wasn't going to be able to stop him.

That night Harry grabbed the cloak again and made his way back to the empty classroom. He walked so quickly he nearly ran to the room. Though he was aware that he was making noise, he didn't care—he had one goal in mind. And in no time he was standing before the mirror and there were his wife and child. It was odd that after only a few times seeing them he was already thinking of them as his family—his wife and child. That should be an odd thought, but to Harry it felt perfectly normal and he couldn't wait to meet both of them someday.

Harry sank down to the floor, sitting on the cold stone, as the cloak fell next to him, forgotten. There was nothing tonight to stop him from staying until the sun rose again the next morning. Nothing at all. Except—

"So—back again, Harry?"

Harry's heart stopped, his body turning cold as he heard the soft, kind voice emanating from behind himself. He turned his head slowly, looking behind him.

Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Professor Dumbledore. Harry realized that he must have walked right passed him in his haste to get to the mirror. How had he not noticed him sitting there, so blatantly out in the open?

"I—I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you there. I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Harry over his half-moon spectacles, "Strange how nearsighted being invisible makes you," he said, "As for discipline, I believe that that, depends."

"On what, sir?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "So, I see that you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I didn't know that's what it was called, sir," Harry replied cautiously, "But that doesn't explain how much trouble I'm in."

"We'll get to that, Harry. I expect you know what this mirror does now that you've had the chance to test its capabilities."

"It—well—it shows me a future after—after Voldemort—"

Dumbledore frowned, his face paling so slightly that Harry didn't notice, "And it showed Draco his family, loving him and full of pride."

"How did you know—"

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," Dumbledore said gently, "Now, can you think of what the Mirror shows us all?"

Harry thought and then shook his head.

"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror like a normal one, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

Harry thought again, putting the pieces together in his mind, and said slowly, "It shows us what we want—exactly what we want…"

"Yes and no," Dumbledore said quietly, "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never know the safety and surety of constant and stable future—who has never been able to think about planning for that future, or having the luxury to hope for it, sees yourself having one in the most common way. By getting married and having a family. While Mr. Malfoy, who has never felt as if he lived up to his parents' expectations sees them loving him, proud of his choices in life. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.

"The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask that neither you nor Mr. Malfoy go looking for it again. if you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. Pass my message along, Harry. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"

Harry stood up, clutching the cloak in his hand as he looked up at Dumbledore, "I'm not in trouble?"

"Not this time, Harry."

"Sir, if I'm not in trouble, may I ask one more question?"

"You may."

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

Dumbledore hesitated and then smiled softly, "I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks. One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone this year and I didn't get a single pair. People keep insisting on giving me books."

Harry thought for a moment and nodded. As he left Dumbledore standing in the room, he thought to himself that Dumbledore hadn't told him the truth—that he saw something else in the mirror. Yet, he couldn't be sure.

~ID~

After the noise and excitement of the last few weeks of the holidays, Potter Manor felt eerily quiet and empty to the three human occupants. With this new found peace, the Marauders were hard at work preparing a presentation for the Wizengamot.

It hadn't taken Sirius long to come to the conclusion that something needed to be done about Draco's situation. When similar occurrences happened to him as a child, there wasn't anyone he could turn to who had the power to make a difference in the world at large—the wizarding community wasn't ready for a massive, systematic change in structure like it is today. Monty Potter had done all he could for Sirius at the time. He had brought up several proposals to the Wizengamot but, the Supreme Mugwump at the time was not prepared to hear any evidence brought against a pureblood family as prominent as the Blacks. All of his proposals were instantly shot down, unheard. But times were changing and with Dumbledore in charge of the Wizengamot, their petition would at least be heard regardless of any general acceptance. Even if the petition simply brought awareness to the situations that many pureblooded children face, that would be enough for now. Starting the conversation would be enough.

Within two weeks of the children's departure, James, Sirius, and Remus had completed their proposal. And, despite Sirius' objections, they had included past incidents of abuse. Their intent was to display the systematic nature of the abuse and pureblood teachings. They hoped it didn't seem too rushed—they wanted to be able to present it during the next meeting. Hopefully Lucy wouldn't get overly defensive of the proposal. Then again, a part of Sirius hoped that he did. He was itching for a fight with that prick.

Writing this proposal had set the group back in their horcrux hunt. Their original plans to visit Little Hangleton had been postponed following Draco's arrival. And with quidditch season back in full swing, they were going to have to plan their trip carefully around James' ever-changing schedule. And there was still the issue of attempting to clear out Grimmauld Place. Sirius had been avoiding the very idea of attempting that battle, going so far as to feign illness or memory loss at the slightest mention of the dreaded activity. Of course, neither friend blamed him for this, but they knew it wasn't something that could be pushed off forever. Who knew what sorts of dark artifacts lay within those walls that needed contained? And there was the issue of the old house elf that lived within the walls. But that endeavor would have to wait until after they visited Little Hangleton—that much they knew for certain.

James and Sirius walked into the Wizengamot meeting proudly, shrouded in their deep purple robes, their names glinting in gold across their breast. They made small talk with some of the other members. Augusta was their main source of company as their seats were situated closely together. But as Dumbledore stood up, the room quickly came to order.

"Good evening, everyone. I know that our meeting tonight is starting rather late—for that I apologize. Sometimes this cannot be helped given everyone's schedules in the world at large. We have several items on our agenda this evening so I suggest we get to it. First on the floor is Dolores Umbridge with proposed legislation to alter the regulation on the trade of certain magical ingredients. Ms. Umbridge, if you would?"

They watched as a squat, toad-like woman stood up and cleared her throat in quite an annoying fashion. James compared its likeness to that of a scratching record—unpleasant but also knee-jerking. He half listened to the new proposal. Apparently, she wanted to more heavily regulate the ability to purchase and use occamy eggshells in potion ingredients. It didn't sound like a proposal she had put together herself, rather, it sounded like one she was merely presenting for an absent party. James' suspicions were confirmed when, at the end of her triad, it was stated that she had presented the legislation in lieu of a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. As Senior Under Secretary under the Minister, apparently one of her duties was presenting any legislation or documents during Wizengamot meetings when the representative was unavailable. That meant that James and Sirius would be subjected to her grating voice more often than they would appreciate.

The legislation was based it's want of protection and regulation of the trade of occamy eggshells because of the danger occamys were in due to the high demand of the shells. Wizards had begun taking unhatched eggs from nests so they could break them open and sell the shells at a high value. Some wizards were even going so far as to raise breeding pairs of occamys so they had a guaranteed supply of shells for sale and use. This practice was causing occamys to become endangered in Brittan and would, eventually, lead to their extinction. The legislation proposed to outlaw the practice of taking shells before the animals had hatched so as to allow the population to regrow at safe rates. Both James and Sirius voted to enact the legislation.

After several long hours of listening to proposed legislation, it was finally time.

"I would like to apologize to the room at large as we are, unfortunately, not done for the evening. I know that the legislation on cauldron thickness was supposed to be our last, however, a last-minute addition to our agenda this evening was made shortly before we began. Therefore, we must hear this last piece. Lords Potter and Black had a committee proposal they would like to present to the group at large and I implore all of you to give it your fullest attention. Lord Black, Lord Potter, if you please."

Both men stood up and looked at one another before Sirius spoke, "Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I apologize for having to keep you later than anticipated this evening, but we must address a serious matter here today," this statement brought about several eyerolls from colleagues in the crowd. Dumbledore simply smiled wistfully as he listened. "Throughout the centuries and millennia, our world has been built on the core values of secrecy and, in most cases, blood status. It has been a long-held belief by a good portion of the wizarding world that the stronger your blood relation is to other wizards, the lack of non-magical blood in your lineage, is of the utmost importance and, to keep it that way, those with what is called 'purer blood' have raised their children to hold certain beliefs and 'family traditions'. Even now we have kept what is supposed to be our fair and impartial legislative process strictly to those of high rank within the ministry and those of 'purer blood'. As I look around today, I see very few people who would be able to state that they are descended from muggles and even fewer, if any, who are muggle born.

"I'm not here to address the inherent and systematic issues that are imbedded with that observation. I am, however, here to address the systematic issues involved in these traditions that many pure blood families still cling to. These beliefs and traditions that lead to the rise of power of Lord Voldemort some thirty years ago. In these families, children are taught from a young age how to act and behave in what is denoted as "the pureblood way". We are taught lessons about the world, languages, and debutant ways. However, the punishments for wrongdoing, for not being up to snuff or upholding these values well enough, are the negative implications that bring this proposal to the forefront today.

"In the summer of 1890, the Wizengamot of Brittan outlawed child abuse. This piece of legislation was extremely specific on what qualified as child abuse. It stated, in relevant part, 'Child abuse shall be defined as any unnecessary form of aggression toward a child without the intent to correct behavior that would cause stain upon the family name.' The statute further defines aggression as, 'the hitting, beating, or injury of a child that results in any physical wound lasting for more than twelve hours.' Causing stain upon the family name was defined as, 'causing ill repute or dishonor upon a pureblood or ancient family name.'

"At the time this statute was enacted, the racial blood divide amongst wizards was common and prevalent. It was common practice to treat those of muggle lineage as lesser than those with purer blood and it was common practice amongst pure blood families to teach their children pureblood traditions through the use of what we now call corporal punishment. This corporal punishment has always bordered on torture. However, the belief was firm that children of pureblood families were little more than property to be used to further the family name and fortune. And to be able to do that, the parents of pureblood children needed to be able to control their legacy in anyway they saw fit. And, as the patriarchal head of those pureblood families were solely in positions of power in the Ministry and the Wizengamot, reserving the ability to continue their discipline practices was paramount despite feeling the need to regulate and limit it throughout the rest of the wizarding community.

"I do not believe it will come as a shock to many of you that this statute has been left untouched over the last century. That the definitions of 'abuse' and 'stain upon the family name' have continued into this new, more accepting era."

Sirius paused for a moment to observe the crowd. There he saw a compilation of shocked and disgusted faces as well as those that sat ridged and stoic. He was unsurprised and continued, "It also will not come as a shock to many of you that the teaching strategies among many of the ancient, pureblood families have also not changed over the last century—over the last millennia. It will not come as a shock to you that those families still utilize old and ancient spells as a form of discipline. That starvation and torture have not been extinguished from the repertoire of punishment options for those families. That these acts of evil have gone unnoticed and unpunished for longer than our current society has been in place.

"This is why Lord Potter and I stand today to speak to you, to plead with you, to accept our Proposal for Committee to Reevaluate and Rewrite the Child Abuse Statute of 1890. We propose that a committee of 20 witches and wizards of all blood status be composed to review and rewrite the child abuse statute so that it will protect all children of all blood status and more accurately reflect the current views of society today. No child should be subjected to any form of abuse in our world or any and the fact that it still continues prevalently today is an issue that no witch or wizard should ignore. In our proposal, Lord Potter and I have listed the criteria that each member of the committee should fit in order to sit on it. We have also proposed that it should include Dumbledore, as the Supreme Mugwump, as well as a representative from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We also propose that the Head Boy and Girl from Hogwarts should be included as a representative so that the children of our world may have a voice in the matter."

James spoke now as he waived his wand, his voice firm where Sirius' was wavering, the emotions overwhelming him, "We have distributed our proposal to each of you. We ask that you read it in its entirety before we vote to form this committee. We ask that you vote with your children, and your children's friends, in mind."

James and Sirius waited patiently as people read their petition. They again saw the multitudes of emotions on their faces ranging from approval to stoic to anger. As people finished reading, they began looking up, waiting patiently to vote.

As everyone finished reading, Dumbledore stood and smiled, "Before we begin a vote, I ask that, if anyone has any questions regarding the proposal, that they be asked now."

There was some general and angry murmuring around the room for a moment, but no one spoke. Sirius noticed Lucy in the crowd, his arms crossed and his look dangerous.

"Then, I ask all those in favor of the formation of the Committee to Reevaluate and Rewrite the Child Abuse Statute of 1890 to please raise your hands. Thank you. All those against the formation, please indicate now. Thank you. The Wizengamot has voted against the formation of the Committee. Thank you everyone, I look forward to seeing you all next month."

James and Sirius sat, dumbfounded, that their proposal had been denied. Angry, they made their way to Dumbledore, who was silently gathering his things before leaving.

"Albus, a moment, if you could," James asked.

"What can I do for you, Sirius, James? I'm sorry your proposal did not turn out as planned. I had high hopes for it."

"How much did it lose by?" Sirius asked darkly.

"Not much. I believe there was only a 10-person difference."

"Out of 250 that's a decent sized gap," James commented, "You wouldn't be able to tell us who voted against it, would you? We saw a few but, we're at the front of the group, so we couldn't see behind us well."

Dumbledore nodded, "The majority who voted against you were those of pureblood status. I believe you know who those are. I suggest you try again on a more…favorable day."

James and Sirius nodded, understanding the unsaid suggestion layered in his response, "We understand, Albus. Thank you for your advice."

Dumbledore nodded and headed out of the room, leaving James and Sirius in his wake. They had work to do.

~ID~

While James and Sirius were at their meeting, Remus found himself alone at Potter Manor with several hours to kill. He had just settled in to watch a movie when Gus peeked into the living room.

"Remus, Ms. Tonks is here to see you. She says it's urgent she speak to you."

Remus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, this woman clearly didn't understand boundaries, "Go ahead and send her in. If you could, could you keep this just between us? I don't think James or Sirius need to know I've been sneaking girls into the house."

Gus nodded, "I is able to be doing that. I is sending her in."

Tonks walked into the room, her hair a new shade of bright pink. Remus rather liked this new color. He thought it was interesting how she decided to have it spike out of her head. He briefly admired how the pink color made her skin seem creamier with hints of blush just hiding under the skin. He noticed faintly the hint of gooseberries—he recalled smelling them in his office when they had worked together on her translation project. Even though she was across the room from him, he could smell it as strongly as if she were sitting next to him.

Tonks smiled at Remus, her eyes alight with excitement and anticipation, "Good evening, Remus."

"Nymphadora," Remus replied, "What brings you here this late in the evening?"

Tonks shrugged as she made her way to the couch to sit next to Remus. She snuggled into the cushions and threw a blanket over her legs, "I was in the area and was thinking about you. I thought I'd see what you were up to. What's this thing?"

Remus looked and saw that Tonks was indicating the TV, "It's a television. It's a muggle electronic thing that lets them watch moving stories with sounds. I'm watching what they call a movie right now. That's like, a really long show. This one is a newer movie—it's about creatures that live under ground and they eat the people in the town if they're not on some sort of concrete slab or on a building. It's quite interesting. The creatures remind me of Keteas but underground rather than in the ocean or sea. I'm not sure if you learned about Keteas during your defense classes or in auror training."

"Briefly. We don't see them often in the UK. They're typically found in the Ionian Sea. Greece has a hard time controlling the minor population of them on occasion but we don't generally assist them. So these things just burrow under the ground and eat everything?"

"Yeah, basically. And the muggles are doing their best to live through the crisis and kill the creatures before they die, too."

Tonks nodded and sat next to Remus as the movie continued on. She found herself loving the ridiculous plot and the characters. Remus smiled when he caught sight of her completely entranced with the movie—she had clearly never seen one before.

About halfway through the movie, Tonks relaxed next to Remus and moved closer, cuddling up to him and pulled the blanket over themselves. Remus frowned at the close contact, stiffening at the ease with which she snuggled next to him. They stayed like that through the entire movie.

Over the next half hour Remus silently wondered why she continued sitting so close to him and how she managed to stay so relaxed as she leaned into him. By the end of the movie, when she had only moved somehow closer, he was seething.

"Nymphadora," he started, the words spitting through his teeth, "Is there a reason you're laying all over me?"

Tonks looked at him, confused, "What do you mean? I was snuggling with you while we watched a movie. I thought it was a pleasant date. I really enjoyed this muggle film. It was interesting."

Remus blanched, "Date?"

"Uh, yeah. That's the thing when two adults get together and spend time together, alone, doing some sort of joint activity. Like watching a muggle film."

"I'm quite aware of what a date is, I've been on plenty," Remus spat, "This, however, was not a date."

"Uh, ok," Tonks said confusedly, "It wasn't a date? We don't need labels—we were just hanging out."

"What do you mean by 'labels'?"

Tonks was thoroughly confused now, "What? I—labels. You know, words like date and relationship and boyfriend/girlfriend? I—I'm not sure what you're getting at here."

"Why would we need 'labels', Dora?"

"I'm saying we don't. We can date and not have labels. They tend to make things easier is all."

"We aren't dating, Tonks."

Tonks frowned, "Since when do you call me Tonks? And what do you mean we aren't dating? What do you think we've been doing over the last two or three months?"

"Just having sex. I—what else would it be?"

"You think we've just been, what, sleeping together on occasion? And what about those times that we're together, like tonight, where we aren't having sex? What's that, then?"

"I—just—two friends getting together? I'm not sure why you would think it constituted anything else?"

"I don't know, Remus, maybe the fact that we've also been sleeping with each other?" Tonks half shouted at Remus, "That, you know, when people sleep together multiple times and then also spend time with each other without having sex, that they're typically dating or in some sort of relationship? Especially considering we never discussed this being a casual sexual relationship."

"Most people would assume that, without conversation explicitly regarding the establishment of a relationship, that the only logical conclusion would be a casual sexual relationship."

"I completely disagree. A casual, sexual relationship generally necessitates the discussion regarding the limits of such a relationship. Typically, the only time two people would discuss whether they're dating is before the first date or at the time they decide to become exclusive or make the relationship 'official'. Because we skipped that first date stage, we wouldn't logically have that discussion until we transitioned to exclusivity."

"I—what? That was utterly confusing," Remus said as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Just—we are not dating. I don't know what you thought this is, but it's not dating. I don't—I don't date. I keep things casual. It's the only way with—with everything," he said as he waived his hand in the absentmindedly.

"What do you mean, everything?" Tonks asked angrily.

"It's nothing. I'm not the right man for you—for anyone. You're too young, too—free. You deserve someone who can give you everything in life, give you the world."

"And why can't you do that? You're a kind and caring man who clearly loves children. You have a good career and you kiss—it's like my entire body will melt every time we kiss."

"I'm not right for you—for anyone. I can't bear to drag anyone in the mud with me. If you knew—"

"If I knew what?" Tonks yelled, "Knew that you're a werewolf?!"

Remus froze. Of all of the things he was expecting her to throw at him, to accuse him of or reasons she shouldn't stay, he never expected her to know, to suspect.

"Well?" Tonks pushed, "I sincerely hope that isn't your rationale because I'll tell you right now, that's complete and utter bullshit."

"How—"

"Oh come on, Remus, I'm not an idiot. Though, if you thought I didn't know, you must have assumed I was considering how painfully obvious it is."

"Obvious?" Remus whispered in a far-away voice.

"I was in your class for 3 years, Remus. You were always out around the full moon and in the few days before and after, you were always so tired and ill. A few of us students figured it out around 4th year. We found out that there were older students who knew, too, who did everything they could to keep those that figured it out from spreading the information. I assume it's still an ongoing 'club' of sorts at Hogwarts. Your lycanthrope is only a big secret to those too lazy or dumb to notice."

Remus was speechless. He had no idea how to respond to this new information.

"Well? Was that your idiotic reason? Because I have news for you: I. Don't. Care."

Then the anger flared in him again and he shouted, "Yes, that is part of my reasoning! I'm dangerous! I'm unfit! I'm…disgusting! Not to mention too old for you—as if that weren't enough on its own! As if I would risk your safety, your life and social standing for my own selfish desires! We can never have a public relationship. Never. The most I will ever be able to give you is casual interaction, casual sex. If that's not enough for you—there's the door."

Tonks looked at him, tears in her eyes, "You're a selfish, self-loathing prat, you know that? I don't care how old you are or what disease you have. It doesn't make me think any less of you. I just want you to be happy."

"Not tarnishing your reputation, keeping you safe and alive makes me happy, Dora."

"What, so now we're back to Dora again?"

"If what I can give you is enough then, yes, for now."

Tonks thought for a moment as tears leaked from her eyes. She angrily wiped them away, inwardly chastising herself for allowing them to fall.

At the sight of her tears, Remus' eyes softened. He reached out gently to wipe away a stray tear from her cheek and frowned, "I'm sorry, Dora. I'm just—I'm all wrong for you."

No, you're all right for me, can't you see that? She thought as she looked into his golden eyes as fear took over her. The fear that he might one day make good on his threat to leave, that one day he would believe he wised up enough to leave her to keep her "safe". Safe from whom she wasn't sure—she was an auror for merlin's sake. In her fear, she leaned forward and yanked his face to hers, capturing his soft, yielding lips with her own, crushing them.

If he could bruise, Remus thought his lips would from the force Tonks was exerting on them. He couldn't say he was shocked by the turn of events, he had hoped that the argument would end this way—her lips on his, touching her, feeling her, for what might be the last time. If he were strong enough.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in as close as he could. If he had been able, he would have taken her inside of himself—no, she still wouldn't have been close enough. He knew he was lying to himself, telling himself that she was all wrong for him. He knew, no matter how much he wished he didn't, how perfectly right Nymphadora Tonks was for him. And, as he vanished the completely unnecessary clothing she was wearing, he hoped to god she never realized how important, how perfect she was, to him.

Remus laid Tonks on the long, broad couch and watched as her breasts rose and fell with her breath, her nipples turning to stiff peaks in the crisp air. He carefully took one of those peaks into his mouth, licking and sucking the beautiful, pink flesh as Tonks moaned his name, her hand fisting in his hair. Her back arched as he ran his warm hands down her sides, his mouth following their course so he could taste more of her gooseberry skin.

And, my god, she tasted better than she smelled. It was nearly overwhelming as he made his way lower. And when he reached her wetness, the heat, it was unbearable. And when his tongue entered her, Tonks couldn't do anything but scream.

She grasped the edges of the couch in her hands, holding onto them as if she would fall into the open sky should she let go. Though, she felt like she was falling into the sky as Remus licked her and rubbed against her clit. This was a pleasure she had yet to experience for herself and she reveled in the feel of Remus' tongue, the warm softness of it, being inside of her.

The orgasm ripped through Tonks with little warning, little build up. She felt as if she were exploding around Remus' face as her hips arched and she cried out for him, begging him for more.

Remus was happy to oblige her as he slowly kissed his way back up to Tonks' slightly parted lips, his hands dragging behind his tongue. And, in seconds, he gripped her hips tightly, digging his fingers into her, as he plunged his cock deep inside of her, burring himself in the heat that was Tonks.

End Notes:

Keteas are sea serpents from ancient Greek mythology. The two most prominently known were Cetus, slain by Perseus, and the one slain by Herakles at Troy.

Yes, the movie mentioned is Tremors. I do not own the rights to the movie nor do I own any of the plot or characters. I'm simply using the movie as an additional plot/information point in my fanfiction.

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