Author's Note:

Been planning this for a while and I did the research on it; looked up driving directions including how long it would take, and how far to drive it. Google was very much my friend here LOL. I have plans my lovelies, so many plans.

Bit of a binge writing this weekend — guess who has most of third year written, but not edited or organized, this girl! Plus I made quite a few notes for fourth year.

Reviews and Comments: To WarMunger98: Thank you again for your kind words about people bashing Ginny. I appreciate you! Yes, Sirius knows about the prophecy now, but is he going to tell Harry? Harry of course was going to defend Ginny. As to the Death eater overhearing the prophecy, Dumbledore never told him so Sirius has no idea it was Snape. Thank you! To White Squirrel: Thank you. This is all speculation by Dumbledore, not facts. That will come later. Thank you for saying I wrote Ginny very realistically. To Guest: Thank you very much for your kind words. Writing is hard and a tough job and people don't realize that. I appreciate your kindness. Thank you! To kateplay: Thank you! Yes, Harry is still going to be a Horcrux and yes, Sirius is not going to take it well LOL. To alix33: Yes, Hedwig and Persephone get on. Thank you!

To Paola1991: Thank you! I don't like to bash characters and yes, Sirius calls Dumbledore out for his flaws, but I don't think Dumbledore is a bad guy. Sirius will be straight with Harry to an extent, but Harry is only thirteen and as a father, he will want to protect him. Thank you! To LadyPhoenix68: Thank you for saying I have developed Zee, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Harry well and that if I do so with Ginny, you might like her. I guess that's a compliment. Ginny is not a fangirl and she will get some mind healing because she needs it. Thank you. To Guest: Thank you for saying this is brilliant. The Horcrux Hunting Party is getting in motion, this is true. Thank you for saying Sirius and Remus are good fathers. They wanted to give Harry time to process things, but they also want to make sure he talks about it and deals with what happened. Thank you for saying this story is mind-blowing! To geekymom: Thank you! To nesciamema: You think Harry should make a profit from the Basilisk parts? Ha, I don't think Harry would think of something like that, he's too sweet!

To coloredwords: Unfortunately, Harry will not destroy Voldemort at the age of 15 lol. But yes, things are starting to come together. I do want to talk more about the diary and about the Chamber, which will happen. No, Hinny will not become a couple now, or any time soon. They are much too young. Thank you for saying you will always love my stories! To Steelcode: Thank you! To M: Ha, you think the next chapter will just be Sirius losing his shit over Voldemort wanting to kill Harry? Well, to be fair, he has a right to. To CrazyWithABook: You're welcome for updating. Thanks for reading and reviewing! To Mille072: I will not be changing my mind about Hinny. They belong together. Harry did bleed with the Basilisk fang, but when Fawkes healed him, the cut healed and most of the blood went with it. Harry did what he thought was best and since last time he went to an adult with such a mad story, they didn't believe him, it made sense for him not to do so now and Sirius understood that. Thanks for thinking the bit between Dumbledore and Sirius was interesting. To LAoR: Thank you! Yes, poor Sirius, as a parent, that is a lot to deal with! To Keephidden1998: Thank you very much!

To PaigeMHughes: Thank you for saying you are madly in love with this fic. I enjoy adding to the character's personalities and creating rich backstories and histories. Thank you for liking my detailed world. I appreciate that. To The Go1den Snitch: Thank you for being too anxious to only read one chapter at a time. Hinny will be earlier than in canon, but not any time soon. To haithuong313: Thank you for saying my story is freaking cool. I like writing heart-clenching moments and yes, Sirius really doesn't handle his anger well when it's about someone he loves. Thank you!

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN:

The One With Prophecies and Horcruxes

When Sirius stepped back into Black Cottage that night, he was at a complete loss of words. Not only had Dumbledore fully confirmed his suspicions about Horcruxes, but he had also dropped the prophecy bombshell on him. Arguing had done nothing to lessen that blow; not to mention the multiple objects that Sirius had destroyed in his rage by throwing them around the Headmaster's office like a petulant child.

Dumbledore should have told him before this; it was something that he needed to be aware of. He should not have been kept in the dark about this and most of all, he had no idea what to do with the information now that he had it.

And he had no idea what the hell he was going to tell Harry.

Sirius had always believed Albus Dumbledore to be a brilliant and powerful wizard, if not a bit set in his ways. He had always led people to the greater good even when Sirius didn't always agree with his decisions, but he knew that having Dumbledore on your side was something that everyone wanted. It was why he had trusted him with the initial finding of the locket over six years ago.

Now he was cursing himself for not realizing instantly what he had found. He dragged his fingers through his hair and went into the kitchen in search of whiskey. He needed a drink.

He had just finished pouring two fingers into a glass when Remus stepped in from outside, Marauder with him.

"Hey, I was beginning to think that you were going to stay out all night," he said casually, moving to take a seat at the kitchen table.

Sirius stared at his front and nodded. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bail like that."

"Did Dumbledore reassure your worries?"

Sirius shook his head and downed the whiskey. "He made Horcruxes, Moony."

Remus stared at him for a moment. "I'm assuming by the look of horror on your face that those are bad?"

Sirius nodded and took a seat across from his friend. "It's very old and very dark magic. I should have known that the locket was one six years ago, but I was too focused on Harry and too caught up in my own fucking head to deal with it back then."

He poured himself a second glass and Remus covered the glass with his hand.

"Sirius, what is a Horcrux?"

"A piece of his soul."

Remus stared at him, his mouth open in abject horror as his friend reiterated the conversation he had had with Dumbledore that evening. "Dumbledore believes he made seven? Bloody hell! Seven!"

"Now you are where I am," he muttered, pouring a glass of whiskey for Remus.

Remus accepted the drink and knocked it back, coughing slightly before his eyes met Sirius'. "And the prophecy… he's sure it's about Harry?"

Sirius nodded. "It has to be, Moony. It said that the Dark Lord would choose his equal and he chose Harry by going after him as a baby. He marked him with that fucking scar, it makes sense."

"How are we going to tell Harry any of this?"

"We're not fucking telling him!" Sirius fumed, his voice rising. He caught himself and muttered 'Muffliato' under his breath to give them privacy in case Harry woke up and wandered downstairs. "He's twelve years old!"

"I didn't mean right this second, Padfoot," Remus said slowly, "but we can't keep this from him either!"

Sirius tapped his fingers on the table. His grey eyes were stormy with rage, but he nodded. "Fuck, I know. I know that…" he dragged his fingers through his hair. "But we can't tell him yet. I-I don't want to tell him yet. I don't want him to have this huge prophecy hanging over him and make him think he has to… he's only a boy… our boy… if this year proved anything, a boy who has a habit of making himself a hero. He has such a good heart, Moony, such a good heart, and he wants to protect everyone and… Merlin… he's already come up against Voldemort three times and he's only twelve!"

Remus nodded and brought his hands to his hair. "I know. It terrifies me as well. Do you think that he knows on some level that this fight between him and Voldemort isn't really over?"

Sirius glanced up at the ceiling, rubbing a hand over his heart. "I don't know. I'm afraid to know the answer."

Remus sighed and poured himself a second glass of whiskey. "As to the Chamber of Secrets, I do think that it's a good idea to take Harry back down there, Siri."

Sirius' eyes darkened black. "No."

"Padfoot, you of all people should understand how something traumatic like that can fester in someone. I think going back down there would be good for him. We can show him that it's safe now and that the snake is really gone and so is Riddle." His eyes raised to the ceiling as he spoke. "He had a nightmare about it while you were gone."

Sirius' eyes darkened. "Is he all right?"

Remus nodded. "He's fine. I heard him crying in his sleep and I went in to check on him, Marauder was nudging him awake and he was hugging his dog. He said something about Ginny and there being so much blood. I think that she was more injured than we thought she was; more than Harry really knows."

"I'll write to Molly and Arthur again and see how she's doing," Sirius told him. "Did he say anything else?"

Remus shook his head. "Not really, just muttered something about Voldemort leaving part of himself behind. I didn't quite understand it and he said that he was fine; insisted on it and told me not to worry. When I left he was using his journal which made me feel a bit better."

Sirius nodded. "That was a brilliant idea on your part. I think journalling helps him quite a bit."

"I wish you would use the one I bought you, Padfoot. If anyone needs to work through their nightmares it's you."

Sirius smiled at his friend. "They aren't as bad as they used to be and having Zee there helps more than I can say."

"Do you actually talk to her about them?"

"Sometimes, yeah," he admitted. "But I don't want to worry her either so I try not to tell her too much."

"You're not worrying her when she loves you," Remus told him. "Ever since I… talking to Dora helps me in ways that I can't explain, Padfoot."

Sirius only nodded and his friend sighed.

"So, what else did Dumbledore say about these Horcruxes? Are we going to form a team to help find them?"

"We're going to talk more it, yeah. Albus is going to spend the summer trying to find out more about what Voldemort did after he left Hogwarts, before he adopted the nom de guerre of Lord Voldemort. He's hoping it might help us get a better idea of what the Horcruxes are. I think that Albus knows more than he let on as well, but to be honest, I just… I need time to mull this over and the last thing that I want is for Harry to be worrying about it. Once he's back at school and away, we can buckle down and try to form a plan on this. I don't want this weighing on him. We can spend the summer to regroup and research."

"And what about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Sirius sighed. "I'll talk to Harry about it, but I don't want him to go down there again. We can use Fiendfyre to destroy them, Moony. We don't need the Basilisk venom."

Remus nodded. "Not officially no, you do have the Sword of Gryffindor available for that."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "The sword doesn't have the power to destroy a Horcrux; it's strong, goblin steel strong, but not exactly soul destroying."

Remus smiled. "The Sword of Gryffindor's enchantment absorbs everything it comes into contact with, Padfoot. Harry stabbed the Basilisk with it which would have absorbed the blood and the venom into the blade; I think it would work against the Horcrux as effectively as a Basilisk fang."

Sirius grinned as he realized what his friend was saying. "That is one small blessing."

"But, you should still consider bringing Harry back down into the Chamber. Not right this second, maybe in September and maybe Ginny as well. It could help them both deal with what happened."

Sirius sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair. "I'll think about it, all right, Moony?"

Remus smiled. "That's all that I ask. Harry is playing this off, but he slayed a Basilisk to save Ginny and he almost died doing it. Don't let him push this down this summer, get him to talk about it and I'll do the same. If he talks to us, he'll feel better, and Merlin knows that we both will too."

Sirius was quiet for a long moment before he poured himself some more Firewhiskey. "I've been thinking about taking him away this summer."

"Away where?"

Sirius shrugged. "Everywhere. I had this idea of taking a road trip on the bike and… just me and Harry. It would give us a chance to talk and to just mellow and adjust to everything that has happened over the last two years. What do you think?"

"I think it sounds brilliant. I think you both could more than use the vacation and getting Harry away from it all for a bit, alone, I think that he'd really open up more."

"You could meet us out somewhere for Harry's birthday, what do you think? I mean, of course you're welcome to come too, but I know you won't be up for the motorcycle part."

Remus smiled. "Of course I'll be there for his birthday, Padfoot, but this trip sounds perfect for the two of you. You could both use it. But in all honesty, you'll think about what I'm saying about the Chamber of Secrets? You'll discuss it with him?"

Sirius nodded, removing the privacy charm from the kitchen. "Yes, I'll think about it and I promise that I'll talk to Harry about it, but not the prophecy… not yet."

Remus nodded, his eyes on his friend. "All right, Padfoot. One thing at a time."

Sirius only stared at his friend, his eyes sad. "Let's see what Dumbledore's research entails this summer and then we'll talk about it again."

Remus only nodded. "Okay, that sounds like a good idea."

"And Rem?" When his friend's golden eyes met his grey ones, he swallowed slowly. "I want to fill Zee and Tonks in on all of this, but the prophecy… let's just keep that between us two for now until we… figure things out."

Remus nodded, his face somber. "Agreed."

~ ASC ~

The next morning Harry made his way downstairs and made himself some toast. He'd had a nightmare about the Chamber, about finding Ginny too late and Tom using his own wand against him. He felt restless and tired, but he didn't want to worry his godfather anymore. Instead he just made his way downstairs. Sirius came down a few minutes later stifling a yawn and looking like he had gotten even less sleep than Harry. He pointed to the chores chart on the fridge as he drank his tea.

"I think that it's time for us to revamp this."

Harry nodded, his eyes on the chart. "Revamp as in give me more chores? Like a punishment?"

Sirius chuckled as he watched his son butter the toast. "Well, I was thinking more along the lines of more responsibility rather than punishment."

Harry pouted. "It still sounds like punishment."

Sirius only grinned at him. "For example, you're pretty good at throwing a meal together. I think we should start splitting the cooking duties around here. Maybe three nights a week, you can cook dinner, what do you think?"

"I like to make food, especially when I get to eat it."

Sirius grinned. "Perfect then. We can still make our weekly dinner plans, but now you'll be the chef three nights a week. If we're lucky, maybe we can even con Zee into coming over and cooking for us once a week-ish. That woman really knows how to cook!"

Harry had to agree with that. Mrs Weasley was the best cook he had ever met, but Zee might be even better. She was always whipping up something small and simple that turned out to be absolutely incredible.

"Maybe. How did meeting her parents go?"

Sirius shrugged and smirked at him. "They were nice. I've never met a girl's parents before. It was different."

"Never?" Harry asked in surprise. "Like, ever?"

"Well, I met Lily's parents once upon a time, but no, never a girl I was with. I told you, Prongslet, I never did the whole girlfriend thing, not really."

Harry nodded and watched Sirius as he stole an apple from the basket on the counter. "That's why Zee's special, right?"

"She's special for a lot of reasons, but yeah, I guess that's why."

Harry ate his toast quietly for a moment. "Maybe she'll teach me some of her recipes."

Sirius smiled at him. "I'm sure that she would love to. You should ask her about it." He took a drink of his tea and bit into his apple. "So, what are the plans for the summer? Did you make any plans with your friends?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really. Neville is actually going to Brazil for two weeks with his great uncle Algie. He wants to see the rainforest and has been begging him to go so that he can learn more about some kind of plants or something. Mrs Longbottom thinks that it's a waste of time as she wants him to become an Auror like his dad, but his great-uncle says that it sounds great."

"That sounds amazing. Nev is going to love that," Sirius told him honestly. "Mrs Longbottom needs to realize that Neville is very different from Frank. That sounds like an exciting trip for him."

Harry grinned. "I agree. He loves Herbology and the opportunity to spend time surrounded by vegetation is going to make him very happy. He won't be back until around our birthdays. Hermione is going to Paris for an entire month. They're staying with a friend of her mother's and she says that she plans to travel everywhere and visit every museum that she can find."

"Sounds rather ambitious," Sirius admitted.

"I think so. Ron wants to stay close to Ginny and to home. Bill mentioned something about taking his family to Egypt, or at least Ginny, to help her heal he says, but I don't know if that's happening or not," Harry admitted.

Sirius nodded. "Sounds like everyone is going on a holiday."

"We're not," Harry said.

Sirius shrugged. "Want to?"

"Just like that?"

"Why not? We haven't been anywhere since we spent time in Italy other than our little time in Greece for Thea and Xander's wedding. Let's go somewhere, just the two of us."

Harry grinned, popping the last bite of toast into his mouth. "Really?"

Sirius smiled and leaned back in his chair, expertly balancing on the two back legs of the chair. "Yeah, let's go somewhere. You've had a long and stressful year with the Chamber of Secrets and dealing with Voldemort all over again, which still scares me to the very depths of my soul, so let's just book it out of here. Just the two of us. Go somewhere new and exciting and play tourist. What do you say?"

"Yeah!"

Sirius grinned and slapped his hands on the table. "Where do you want to go?"

Harry shrugged. "Anywhere."

"I'm glad that you said that." At Harry's look, Sirius dipped his chair back to the ground and walked into the sunroom. He came out with a folder. "Ever since we talked about you possibly learning to drive the motorbike, I started planning us a little holiday for this summer. Actually, a really big holiday."

Harry's eyes lit up and he moved his chair around the table when his father sat back down. "You've been planning something?"

"For a few months now. I was thinking that we could take a road trip. We can rent some wicked Muggle sports cars if you want to, but I was thinking that we could drive the Ducati the entire way and if you're lucky, I'll teach you how to drive it."

Harry's eyes widened. "Actually?"

Sirius shrugged. "Maybe. I was thinking the Ducati would be great. The way I've planned it, Prongslet, it will take most of the summer. I was thinking of going for fifty days."

"Fifty days?" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "Really? Where are we going?"

Sirius opened the book and pointed to the map. "Well, I did a little research on the best road trip places in Europe, talked to a travel minister and well, I got a list of where to go — but in all honesty, I'm thinking, eleven countries, roughly fifteen thousand kilometres in fifty days."

Harry stared at him in awe.

"It's too much, right? I just thought that it would be full of landscapes and fun places we can stop off on, not to mention a shit ton of driving, but we can travel around, see the sights, take a ton of photos and just unwind. You've had two very intense years of school, Prongslet, and both of them involved meeting a form of Voldemort at the end of the year and I think that we both need this. It could be fun, no?"

"Uncle Sirius, this is brilliant! When can we leave?"

Sirius grinned. "Excellent. I say the beginning of next week."

"Are we really going to do it all on the Ducati?"

Sirius grinned. "We are. I just need to add a few adjustments to it."

Harry couldn't stop smiling. "What about Zee?"

"What about her?" Sirius asked, looking over the pages of notes he had made on road maps. "She's working and she travels for her job all of the time. She's getting ready to make a trip to Brazil and to Hong Kong herself for most of the summer. She'll be fine without me."

"I know that she'll be fine," Harry told him, rolling his eyes. "But will you be fine without her?"

Sirius grinned at him. "Listen here, kid, I don't need to be with her twenty-four/seven. I love her very much, but this trip is about us. Besides, you and me, we need some time to ourselves, don't you think?"

Harry nodded and grinned widely. "It sounds brilliant. What about Marauder?"

"I'm sure that Uncle Remus and Tonks will take care of him or we can ask Andy and Ted. Uncle Remus is going to meet us for part of the trip, maybe for your birthday? What do you say?"

He could only keep grinning in response. It sounded like the coolest thing in the world to him; especially if Sirius was going to teach him how to ride the motorbike.

~ ASC ~

By the end of the next week, Harry and Sirius had everything organized and ready to go. Remus helped them put an undetectable extension charm and featherlight charms on their book bags which they filled with clothes, toiletries, a camera with tons of film, a few school books for Harry as he had summer homework to do, some priority vinyl for Sirius, and Harry brought along his journal.

The '75 Ducati 450 Scrambler was ready to go. Sirius had added some features to it including cushioning charms, extending the seat to give the two of them more room, flying capabilities, and he magically installed a record player underneath the seat, using a Sonorous charm to have the music play in the two helmets.

Harry was beside himself with excitement.

It seemed like the coolest trip he could ever imagine and spending all of that time with just Sirius would be really great. It had been a while since the two of them had spent any real time together especially in the last few years with Harry going to school and spending time with his friends, with Zee coming around, and with Remus and Tonks getting together. Remus had agreed to come on the trip as well, but only for a few days — promising to meet up with them in Norway, which would be around Harry's thirteenth birthday.

Sirius warned him again that it would be a lot of driving; a lot of time spent on the back of the bike, but Harry was too excited. The sights and the landscapes to see alone would make it worth it.

Not to mention that he was itching to learn to drive it.

Zee came to see them off on the twenty-eighth of June with a big smile. She'd packed them a basket full of food for the road with a cooling charm to keep it fresh in Harry's book bag. When they returned on the sixteenth of August, she would just be getting back into town herself, but she promised them that she would be back before Harry went back to Hogwarts. She kissed them both goodbye and Harry grinned widely when she kissed his cheek, hugging her tightly as she smiled warmly at him before he slipped his book bag onto his back and accepted the helmet from his father, putting on the aviator sunglasses that Sirius had bought him (they even matched his prescription so that he was able to see through them) and then he climbed onto the back of the Ducati. It was extremely comfortable with the cushioning charm and he had tons of room to himself, but he still had to hold onto his father when he drove.

Sirius used his wand to set the first record into place as AC/DC belted out Back in Black and they took off down the road, the roar of the engine muffled from the music. The warm wind whipped through the tee shirt that Harry wore and he was grinning widely as they started their journey towards their first destination: France.

They stopped four hours in to eat some of the food that Zee had packed for them and then headed back out, stopping once more for a quick bathroom break before arriving in Provence, France late that night. Sirius set up privacy wards and he unpacked the tent that he had purchased and he and Harry got to work, nailing the tent into the ground at all sides.

Sirius wheeled his bike into the tent and Harry followed him inside yawning. The tent was large. There were two large beds on either side of the tent, privacy curtains to separate the beds from a small living room area and a small kitchen between the two bedroom areas with a bathroom at the back.

Harry had already been given the task of cooking dinner that first night and he hurried over to their supplies to see what was there. Twenty minutes later, he had bacon and tomato sandwiches ready for them and cheesy mashed potatoes. He and Sirius ate in silence for a few moments before Sirius spoke up.

"I'm really glad that we decided to do this, Harry."

Harry grinned at him. "Me too."

"You were okay on the back of the bike today? We did drive for almost sixteen hours and I know that we stopped to rest a few times, but still — it was a really long day."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, your charms were great, plus it's great to be on the bike. Where are we headed tomorrow?"

"Well, we're in Provence at the moment, so I thought that we could see some of the market towns to start. What I want this trip to be about is anything that we see along the way that interests us, we're going to stop for it. It's about what we want to do together. Deal?"

"Deal."

Harry couldn't imagine anything better.

~ ASC ~

Remus fed Marauder and glanced at the clock. Harry and Sirius had already been gone for over a week. If they were keeping to schedule, they should have already left France and moved into Italy and would be leaving Italy within the next day or two to head to Romania. He wondered how Harry was doing on the back of the motorbike and if Sirius had caved when it came to letting their son drive.

He wasn't surprised that Harry wanted to learn nor was he surprised that Sirius wanted to teach him, he had just thought that his friend would have waited until Harry was old enough.

He should have known better.

He was supposed to be meeting Tonks at her office for five thirty. They had reservations at her favourite Muggle Thai restaurant that night and he was looking forward to it. Not only had it been too long since he had eaten Thai food, but far too long since the two of them had actually gone out together on a real date. With him accepting the post as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and moving into Hogwarts castle for the last few months, she had been coming to him.

He really liked that she had been coming to him.

Remus had never imagined that he would be spending his time as a professor sneaking around the castle in the middle of the night like a randy teenager, but he was. Tonks was insatiable and mischievous and he loved it. They'd had sex against and on every surface in his office, including his desk chair. He'd made slow love to her on the sofa in the staff room in the middle of the night, in his chair at the Head Table in the Great Hall, in a broom closet by Gryffindor Tower, and twice in the library — once in the restricted section. She'd gone down on him in his office, twice in different alcoves around the castle, and once in a broom closet. His favourite moment by far was when he'd used his mouth on her on Sprout's desk over and over and over again as she cried and begged for him. He'd also pleased her in the kitchens when the house elves left them alone and he'd bent her over Snape's desk more times than he wanted to admit. The last time they'd almost been caught, giggling and laughing like children as they ran before Snape found them.

But it wasn't just their middle of the night sexual adventures.

They spent countless nights curled up in front of the fire just talking about everything and anything. Remus would read to her or tell her about his lessons or tell her about the research that he'd done on lycanthropy over the years including what he had learned from the professor in Paris. She would talk about work (on the cases that weren't classified_ and told him about what she had tripped over that day when he asked about her newest bruise (as she was adorably clumsy).

She made him so incredibly happy that he sometimes couldn't even begin to put it into words.

He changed into comfortably snug blue jeans and wore a sage green dress shirt rolled to the elbows, his eyes noticing his scars on his arms. That was another thing, he thought, ever since he had come clean to her about being a werewolf, he wasn't ashamed of his scars anymore. He didn't work to hide them from others like he always had. He was comfortable with himself and for the first time in his life, he felt truly proud of who he was.

He scratched Marauder behind the ears and promised the dog to be back later that night before he Apparated to the Ministry of Magic. He registered himself as a visitor and made his way to the lifts, whistling as he went. He hadn't seen Tonks since yesterday and he had missed her terribly as she had worked a double shift. He was used to seeing her every day, holding her almost every night and to be without her left a void in him that he was unused too.

He looked up in surprise when the familiar platinum blonde woman stepped into the lift with him and smiled brightly at him. "Remus! Hi, it's been so long!"

He nodded, smiling at her. It had been a long time, he thought, trying to remember back… Harry had been around seven when he had the affair, he thought. "Yes, it's been quite a few years. How are you doing, Roni?"

"Very well, thank you! I was on my way out for the day when I realized that I forgot my bag at my desk," she told him hitting the button for floor three. "My mind is in a million different places today."

Remus nodded, smiling warmly. "Well, it's lovely to see you again," he said as the lift began to move.

Veronica nodded. "I agree. I admit that I've thought about you quite a bit from time to time." Her tongue trailed across her bottom lip as she looked at him. "Even contemplated calling you for a good rogering. You were definitely worth the time in the bedroom, Remus, such stamina and so… well endowed."

Remus blushed bright red as the door dinged for the second floor: Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "That's kind of you to say. It was good, our time together. We had fun. Oh, this is my stop. It was nice seeing you again."

Veronica made to speak and then closed her mouth and stepped off of the lift with him instead. "Remus!"

He turned to look at her in surprise. "Yes?"

She took a step towards him, biting her bottom lip and she tapped her fingers up the buttons on his shirt. "I could be persuaded to invite you back to my flat if you maybe wanted to have a little fun, for old times' sake."

Remus blushed and took her hand off of his chest. "I'm flattered, but I'm actually seeing someone. I'm here to meet her now actually. She's an Auror."

Veronica nodded, her fingers curling around his hand. "You could not meet her," she said seductively, moving closer to him. "We could head back to my office and I can get on my knees and wrap my mouth around your —"

"Remus!" Tonks called out, heading towards him.

Remus, if possible, turned even redder, pulling his hand away from Veronica's grasp. "Nymphadora," he said gratefully as he stepped away from Veronica. "Um… this is Veronica Riley. She's an agent in the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad. Roni, this is my girlfriend, Nymphadora Tonks, she's an A2 in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Tonks held out her hand to Veronica, wrapping her other arm around Remus' waist and slipping her hand into the front pocket of his jeans in a very possessive gesture that she knew surprised and pleased Remus at the same time. The way the woman was looking at her mate was enough to make Tonks want to claw her eyes out. She could feel Remus' heartbeat rapidly pulsing between her breasts.

"Hello, Roni, is it?"

Veronica looked taken aback. "Yes. Remus and I are old friends."

Tonks let her eyes travel up and down Veronica with distain. "Yes, I can quite clearly see that you're an old friend."

"Excuse me?" Veronica exclaimed, her eyes narrowing in Tonks' direction.

Tonks simply stood on her toes and kissed Remus' cheek. "Are you ready to go, babe?"

Remus was biting his lip to stop himself from laughing. Veronica looked like she could blow a gasket at any moment and Tonks was being extra touchy, he thought as his mate's hand slid over his abs. He was enjoying it more than he should be, he realized.

"Yes, let's go. It was nice to see you again, Roni, truly."

Tonks linked her fingers through Remus' hand and turned to look back at Veronica as they stepped into the lift, who was staring at them with seething eyes as the door closed behind them. She looked up at Remus the moment the doors closed.

"You shagged her."

Remus opened his mouth and then promptly shut it again.

"You did! She's like ten years older than you!"

"Age is really the question here?" he asked, his golden eyes on her grey ones.

She blushed. "We're different. She's old."

He smiled. "She's hardly old. Older, yes, but not old by any means. She's forty-eight and we mutually enjoyed each other for a while."

The lift opened and Remus led her through the atrium and out through the front door.

"How long exactly?"

"How long exactly what?"

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Did you mutually enjoy each other?"

"Oh, about six or seven years ago, I guess."

"No, how long did you bang her for?"

Remus chuckled as they headed into downtown London. "Dora, it was a long time ago. Long before you and I."

Tonks was quiet for a moment. "Was she good?"

"Nymphadora!" Remus exclaimed in exasperation. "What kind of question is that?"

"I want to know," she insisted, stopping and turning around to face him. "Was she good?"

Remus sighed. "There's no way for me to answer that without coming off as a huge prat."

Tonks frowned. "So, she was good! Was she better than me?"

Remus put his hands on her hips and tugged her up against him, grinding his hips gently into hers as he kissed her lips. He pulled away and tilted his forehead down to hers.

"There is no need to be jealous, Nymphadora. I had a past. I slept with people before you. Now there is only you and no one else. I love you and no one on earth compares to you," he said fiercely, gripping the heartbeat that nestled between her breasts.

Tonks smiled at his words and sighed, "But you know who I was with. You know there were only two before you and that —"

His lips crushed against hers to silence her and her arms wrapped around his neck. He kissed her deeply until she was breathless and dreamy-eyed when he pulled away.

"I love you and only you." He kissed the tip of her pert nose. "But you are utterly adorable when you're jealous."

She huffed in annoyance. "I am not jealous, I just want to know."

He smirked at her. "Jealous."

Tonks scoffed at him. "At least I didn't almost cause a scene like you did with Hugh at the Christmas party!"

Remus grinned and tugged her closer so that he could suck on her neck. He knew that if he pressed his mouth at the spot where her neck met her collarbone she would moan and melt in his arms. "You are my mate and if he touches you, I'll kill him. That's not me being jealous; that's just simply a fact."

Tonks pulled away from him, her eyes on his. "Well, if that cougar bitch touches you, I'll make her wish that she'd never laid eyes on you. And that's not me being jealous — that's just a simple a fact."

Remus grinned. "Wench."

"Prat."

"Bitch."

"Arse."

"Jealous minx."

"You're my prat."

He smiled and kissed her. "And you are my heart."

Tonks smiled and arched her head to give him access to her neck. "I think we're going to be late for dinner."

Remus simply smiled and pulled her into the alley, pinning her against the wall and kissing her deeply. "We're going to very late," he said against her neck as his hand slid under her shirt. "Very late indeed."