Sorry it took so long to update this! I had a paper and that has been claiming my time recently. Anyway, we have a little bit of RemusxTonks in this chapter, even if it is not fluff... that is good right?
Also, if anyone wants to make a cover art for this or any of my stories, PM me and we can work out how you can get it to me and such. General rules, must pertain to the story in some way (i.e. I will be very impressed if you give me a blueprint of Hogwarts, but it is not exactly what I am looking for for this story...) and be appropriate.
I hope you enjoy this update! Read and review, please. Oh, and this story has now tied my Dear Baby story in reviews! This one has turned out more popular than I anticipated!
I don't own Harry Potter :(
Remus beamed. His son had just called him "Dad." It had been a very long time since he had been called anything so wonderful. "I love you too, Dad," he had said without any hesitation at all. He had to resist the urge to pull Teddy into another bone crushing hug.
A flutter of movement in the corner of his eye caught is attention. He looked just in time to see the curtain settle back into place.
"I think your Mum is waiting on us," he observed, "We should probably go in."
"I guess so," Teddy answered, but hesitated, "You are going to come back, aren't you?"
Remus felt even more ashamed of himself. "I promise. I will be here anytime you need me. I was wrong to stay out of your life, and I am sorry it took me so long to realize that."
"It's okay. You are here now."
Remus smiled at him. That was another way he was like his mother. They were both far too forgiving.
Together they walked to the door. Remus knocked and after what Remus suspected was a carefully measured pause, Dora answered.
"You two got yourselves sorted out?" she asked brightly.
"Yeah," Remus smiled, "We had a very nice talk, didn't we Teddy?"
Teddy nodded eagerly, "Yeah, we did! Can I go back tomorrow, Mum?"
Dora's face twitched slightly, but Remus caught it. "Now Teddy, tomorrow is Saturday. It is your Mum's day off…"
"No, it is fine. I have some work to catch up on anyway and Kingsley gave me an extended weekend since I was gone on conference all of last weekend."
"Thanks Mum!" Teddy cried, and wrapped her in a quick but enthusiastic hug that almost sent them both crashing to the floor. Clearly, Remus thought, Teddy had inherited Dora's sense of equilibrium.
"You're welcome, sweetie," she said after steadying both him and herself, "Now why don't you run along. Dinner is almost ready—Say bye before you go!" she called after him, as he was already almost half way up the stairs.
He trotted back down and ran to hug Remus so that it knocked him back a few steps. "Bye Dad! See you tomorrow!" Then he darted off again.
"Merlin," Dora muttered, "I don't think he's been this hyper since George took him trick-or-treating last Halloween."
"Oh I can only imagine what that was like…"
"Absolutely astonishing," Dora answered, "I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. Days long… I would have taken him myself, or Harry, Ron, or Hermione would have, but there was a tough case on and we were all stuck at work… had the Aurors and the Law Department running for weeks. Anyway, George insisted that it was his turn, and he and Angelina were taking Fred and Roxanne out anyway, and Ginny staying in with the little ones… Oh well, you live you learn."
"Listen Dora…"
"Tonks," she interrupted stubbornly.
He ignored her and continued on, "Are you sure you're okay with Teddy spending the day with me tomorrow."
"Does it really matter?" she asked, "It's not like I can say no without looking like the bad guy, can I? But, to be fair, I really am fine with it. Teddy needs to get to know you and I haven't told him nearly enough."
"If you are sure…"
"Yeah, I am… so you'll pick him up about ten-ish? Saturday is our lazy day, so we sleep in a bit."
Remus recognized her dismissal. "Yes, that is good. Well, I will see you then."
"Yeah. Bye, Remus."
"Goodbye… Dora," he answered as the door closed.
Back in his now empty sitting room, he wondered how he had even taken the quiet. One afternoon with his son filling the space with his cheerful chatter made the silence seem unbearably lonely in comparison. He thumbed through a book for diversion while sipping his cup of tea, but soon found his eyes wondering around the room. They landed on a book on the sideboard. He opened it to remove the photograph tucked in the pages. It was of Dora on no day in particular. That was why he liked it. It was timeless in that sense, because it could have been any day that she leaned against the kitchen counter with her coffee mug in her hand and her hair in her usual casual disarray. This could have been her yesterday, for all he knew, this is what she could be doing now.
He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. How had they gotten here? It was all on him, of course, but the question was, had they crossed the point of no return. Would he be calling her Tonks until the day he died? He certainly hoped not. And then there was the question of what their relationship status actually was. She was technically still his wife, in the legal sense, but after all these years of no contact or even a line of communication… did they even count as friends? Merlin knows he was terrified of what her answer to that question would be.
The last time he had spoken to Dora, she had not been very coherent. In fact, he doubted whether she would remember it at all. It had been after the battle, and she had been gravely injured in a duel with Bellatrix. Her ribs were cracked and a curse was burning through her veins. She was screaming, and every scream intensified the pain. Madame Pomfrey wanted to put her under so that she would stop thrashing and risking puncturing her lungs with her broken ribs.
Remus thought she was going to die, and apparently so did she. Before she was given the sedative, she grabbed his hand with the force only a dying woman delivering her final act can manage. Her eyes were clouded over and unfocused when she spoke. "Our son," she choked in a strangled whisper, "Your son… He needs one of us. Take care of him." Crimson drops of blood were flecked on her lips from the effort of screaming and speaking, contrasting sharply with her pale face. She looked like a corpse already.
"I will, Dora, I promise," he had cried, now he wondered if he would have kept his promise and the question haunted him. Tears were streaming down his face and he had been holding her hand tightly as if to tether her to life. He had pressed his lips to hers for one last kiss. Madam Pomfrey injected the sedative in her arm and her eyes closed for what Remus was sure was going to be the last time.
He did not leave her bedside, not even to eat or sleep, not until she was about to wake up. He left her then, even though it was painful. It was because of him that Bellatrix had tried to kill her, and in such a brutal way. He had sworn the healers and everyone who saw him there to secrecy. So far as he knew, she had never been told of his days-long bedside vigil. He thought it was better that way. He had not wanted to make her think he was there to stay when he was no more deserving of her than he had been when he had left the last time.
He should have stayed then. He had passed up yet another chance to be the man he should have been all along. Instead he had spent eleven years following the lives of his wife and child through pictures, letters, and—in Dora's case—newspapers.
He had let so much time pass… and there was no way to recover those wasted years. But maybe, just maybe, he could recover some sort of feeling between them, be it friendship or something else. His resolve was firm. He was going to talk to her. He wasn't going to be pushy or even hint that they could pick up where they left off. He would offer friendship, and nothing more.
That left him with perhaps the stickiest question of all: exactly how is a man supposed to ask his wife out on a "just friends" date.
So how do you think Remus is going to ask his wife out? More importantly, what will she say? Review and tell me what you think.
