-
She awoke with a start. What time is it? How many hours have I lost? Tonks flung out an arm and almost knocked the clock off the trunk serving as a bedside table. It was eight o'clock. Only five hours wasted in sleep. She closed her eyes in relief.
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Remus' voice was husky. His hand rubbed her back in slow sweeps.
Tonks shifted to face him. "I was afraid I'd slept the day away."
The corners of his mouth turned up. "I would never have let that happen."
Male confidence rang in his tone. It was incredibly sexy. She arched an eyebrow. "Really? What if I was so exhausted that I just couldn't open my eyes?" Her eyelashes fluttered closed as she feigned sleep.
He gave a huff of amusement by her ear that made Tonks shiver in anticipation. "Nymphadora," he murmured, while his fingertips traced her features. "It's time to wake up." His lips brushed across her cheek and grazed her lips.
It was a tough decision whether to snog him senseless or discover what he would do to wake her. In the end, her eyes remained tightly shut, although her mouth parted in invitation.
Remus chuckled and kissed his way down her throat. When he laved the skin with his tongue and gently sucked, it took all her willpower not to moan. If he thought she would give up her pretence to tell him not to give her a love bite, he was mistaken. Auror robes would hide the mark.
He settled on top of her. It was hard to keep her hips from lifting in response. How far would he go? She couldn't wait to find out.
Knock! Knock!
"Who's there?" Remus whispered laughingly, rolling to the side.
Tonks sat up. "Somebody who wants a hex." She glared across the attic. Reluctantly getting out of bed, she bent to scoop denims and a tee off the floor and pull them on.
She cracked open the door. "Yeah?"
"Good morning!" Bartholomew Savage displayed teeth so pearly; Tonks was tempted to warn him that too many whitening spells would give him a permanently fluorescent smile. It could happen. She'd seen a bloke whose teeth glowed in the dark, and the look was eerie, not attractive.
Her lips twisted down. "It was great until you pounded on my door. What do you want?"
His eyes flickered over her MegaMaggot tee. "Dawlish made up the patrol schedule. You've been put down for the morning and afternoon perimeter check." Gaze riveted to the logo on her chest, he said, "I have a Firebolt if you need it."
"I've got my own broomstick," she said, repressing envy that his broomstick was sleek and fast while hers was serviceable Comet 260.
His foot pushed the door open wider. "I'd be willing to share more than my racing broom." Savage glanced over her shoulder, as if trying to gauge how big the attic bedroom was.
Tonks blinked in surprise. "What?"
The blinding smile flashed again. "I know. My last girlfriend was a Siren's Secrets model, but since we're both unattached and our time in this village is going to pass slowly with nothing to do, if you take my meaning—"
"Oh, I get it, Barty," Tonks said sharply, "but I'm not going to take the offer. Even if I wasn't attached, I still wouldn't be interested." She shook her head in disgust. Remus thought she was beautiful, and making love with him meant a hell of a lot more than alleviating boredom. Savage was lucky not to get a hex, and she wondered how he got sorted into Hufflepuff. Loyalty to friends, maybe, but she didn't want to be the kind of "friend" he had in mind.
"It's Savage. Just Savage." He made a face. "I don't like my first name any more than you do yours."
"Okay, Savage. Tell Dawlish I'm on my way to fly the perimeter."
He nodded and stepped back. As she began to shut the door, he said quickly, "Hey, about my offer. I wasn't trying to offend you. I thought an arrangement would benefit both of us." At her sceptical look, he blurted. "Honest—office rumour is you look like that because of a break-up. I—achoo! ACHOO!"
"Allergic to dust? Better leave, and next time don't listen to gossip." Tonks shut the door with a kick of her foot. She asked the man standing behind her. "What was that? The Marauder Sneezing Jinx?"
Her lover's smile had an edge to it that made her heart beat faster. "He was fortunate not to receive an Impotence Hex."
Tonks widened her eyes theatrically. "Merlin! Is that why Snape never married?"
Remus gave a bark of laughter. "Sirius and James may have pretended to consider the idea, but that's one hex Severus never received."
She smirked. "Bet he has you to thank for that."
An expression of boyish sheepishness made Remus look adorable. "Actually, Peter was the voice of reason. I was feeling none too charitable after listening to Severus' remarks about werewolves in Defence Against the Dark Arts."
Tonks hugged him. "I don't blame you, but even so, I'd wager Galleons you only wanted to make the impairment temporary."
"Do you consider the school term temporary?" A gleam of mischief lit amber-coloured eyes. "They were very cutting remarks."
She grinned. "You have a nicely developed sense of vengeance." Her hands moved down to his backside. "Among other things."
Remus' chest shook with silent amusement, although he tried to keep a straight face. "Didn't you tell Savage that you were on your way to fly the perimeter?" He chuckled when she pinched his arse.
"In a hurry to see me go, are you?" Tonks pretended to sulk.
He rubbed the tip of his finger across her lower lip. "No. The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll be back in my arms."
She stepped away to blow him a kiss before shoving her wand into her front pocket. With a wink, she ran to snatch up her Auror robes along with the broomstick propped in a corner. "In that case, I'll save time by not bothering to put on knickers!" Tonks shoved her feet into the nearest pair of boots, threw open the window, and dove outside. The Comet might not be the fanciest broom on the market, but its stability and instant vertical lift made exits fun.
"Nymphadora!"
Stretched out over the broomstick, Tonks looked down at Remus and waved. "I should be back in half an hour."
He raised his wand, waving it in an intricate pattern. A green light washed over her. "If you're not, I'll track you down."
"Stop tempting me!" She dropped lower until they were eye level. "I might skive off duty and do a little nude sunbathing in a forest glade."
Remus' lips twitched. "I'm sure you'd be a sight for centaurs."
Tonks grimaced. "The kind that carry bows and arrows?"
"As well as a grudge against humans."
She sighed. "There goes my fantasy."
"I'll happily share one of mine when you return."
All of a sudden, she couldn't wait to perform her duty. "Hold that thought," she said, leaning over to give him a swift kiss goodbye.
Her broomstick gave a lurch. She hadn't ridden her broom regularly in quite awhile. If she kept it idling, as it were, its magic might stall, or worse—send her into a dive. It was time to go. Tonks gripped the broom tightly and allowed it to ascend high into the air before she bent over the handle to accelerate. The broomstick shot forward.
She soon left the village behind, speeding toward the forest so thick with underbrush and trees, the only way she'd possibly spot a Death Eater was if he was entering or leaving. Out of routine, she held her wand out, ready to veer off course if the tip began to glow red in response to the working of Dark magic.
Halfway through her patrol, Tonks almost fell off her broomstick when she saw a group of cloaked figures enter the Forbidden Forest. She made the decision to apprehend and then send her Patronus for backup. There were only four DE's. She'd use a Disillusionment Charm to sneak up on them and then Stupefy the lot.
Her plan worked brilliantly. Flying low and slow, she followed the dark, narrow path until she reached the group walking single file through the forest. Non-verbal Stunning Spells froze her targets one by one.
When Tonks dismounted, she decided to have a look at the DE's, to see if she could identify any of them. Wouldn't Dawlish have Kneazles if she had caught Greyback or someone else of high rank?
She pushed back the tallest man's hood. His cloak fell open. Her jaw dropped. Swallowing hard, she jerked back the concealing hoods of the other three, shorter individuals. They also wore a distinctive neckerchief and uniform. Tonks said a word that would have earned her mother's Soapy Mouth Jinx. These were no Death Eaters. She had stunned a group of wizard scouts!
-
Remus decided to tidy the bedroom and write in his journal while Nymphadora patrolled the forest. The clearing up was easily done. He only needed a few spells to make the bed and dry-clean the clothing strewn over chairs and on the gray floorboards. With a flick of his wand, he sent the folded clothes to pack themselves in her trunk, idly reflecting that his new flatmate made his lover seem the tidiest of women.
It was far harder to write down his feelings. As he sat in a chair with his journal opened to fresh page, Remus hesitated to put quill to parchment. In a way, he didn't want to deal with what he had witnessed in the early hours of the morning. It would be far easier to write about how he had almost repaid Savage's proposition with more than a jinx.
Remus valued his time with Nymphadora so much, hearing her company devalued as a way to pass the time was deeply offensive. It also brought back a memory. Well aware that he was giving in to avoidance behaviour, he flipped back to an entry from May, 1977.
I finally got the opportunity to ask Sirius why he has avoided the common room since we returned from Easter Holiday. After dinner, instead of gathering with the others by the fireplace as usual, I said I needed to read a chapter of History of Magic and went upstairs.
When I entered the dorm, my friend was leaning out the window, about to dive out it. He heard me shout his name and turned, cracking his head against the window frame. After I listened to creative expletives and reassured Padfoot that he was not bleeding, I asked what was so awful in his life that he wanted to jump out of a tower window.
He sat on the floor, howling with laughter. Once he contained his amusement, Sirius shared that, unlike me, he was ace at Levitation Charms. He just liked to do a little free fall before engaging the spell, to boost the adrenaline rush. He escaped the tower to go running as Padfoot every night.
I seized the opportunity to ask why he was avoiding the common room.
Sirius grimaced, explaining that since Lily had a friend staying with her over holiday, he got friendly with the girl, but it was only a casual thing—a little snogging to pass the time while Lily and James billed and cooed at each other. When she grabbed his arm on the King's Cross platform and said she couldn't wait to tell her friends that they were going together, Sirius had blurted that she'd better, because they weren't, and escaped her clutches.
So that is why Emma sits between Dorcas and Lily almost every evening, sniffing into her handkerchief while searching the room with her eyes. She's hoping Sirius will return to her.
I feel even sorrier for the girl, because he won't.
His friend had once been as cavalier as Savage. How painfully ironic that Sirius now kept the woman he loved waiting for his return.
Remus was stricken by the thought that he also kept his lover in a constant state of waiting. Nymphadora waited to talk to him via communication mirror. She waited for him to be able to visit. Tonight, she would wait while he had dinner at the Burrow. Tomorrow, he would leave for Salford, and a new round of waiting would begin.
He also felt the pain of separation keenly, but had to admit guilt twisted the blade of regret deeper into his gut. He had volunteered for a mission which—at the least—was dangerous, and could prove deadly. One wrong move, or a careless word, would make the pack turn on him. Not every werewolf left Salford for Inverness. Some simply disappeared. Others ended up victims of "Muggle" crime.
Remus planned to take every care possible, but knew Nymphadora worried about him. He'd seen proof that it was more than grief over Sirius and Emmeline behind her troubles with Metamorphosing.
Dawn had begun to cast fingers of light across the bed when he awoke to hear a sound of distress. The first thing he had seen was the frown on Nymphadora's sleeping face. The second thing he noticed was her hair. It was spiky and bubblegum pink at the tips.
The grin that stretched his face froze when she spoke his name in a sad whisper. As he watched, her hair became limp, the pink colour fading to brown. Gently, he took her hand and kissed it, finding a measure of comfort that her features relaxed as she settled into a deeper sleep.
His own sleep had been restless. When his mate woke from a nightmare, he was already half-awake, sleepily enjoying the warmth of her body beside him.
Lack of sleep was his excuse to close the journal and let the day go by without any remark. Besides, he should get some rest, in order not to be yawning when Nymphadora returned.
A playful breeze scampered through the window. The journal fell open to a blank page. Almost on its own, Remus' quill lowered to the parchment.
July, 1997
A quote has sprung to mind by a poet named Richard Lovelace.
I could not love thee, Dear, so much,
Lov'd I not honour more.
In Muggle Studies, both Sirius and I loathed the poem To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars. Sirius said the bloke sounded as though he embraced going to war more eagerly than he ever had the woman he left behind. I disliked the conceit of the man who wrote it.
I do not love honour. I am not such a noble man that I eagerly put aside the needs and wants of self to serve the needs of others. I do what is right, because it is right, and I regret the need to leave the one I love more deeply than any man-made concept of duty.
Remus shut the journal and rose to place it in the bottom of Nymphadora's trunk. Although he had brought his writing desk to Salford, it was too great a risk to keep his journal with him any longer. Wards could be broken. He would rather his past, his present, and his future remembrances be held in loving hands.
He had stretched out upon the bed and started to close his eyes when Nymphadora clambered into the attic. She dropped the broomstick and rushed to the bed. "You'll never believe what happened!"
Remus listened to her story with a smile that was as much for the sparkle in her eyes and the roses in her cheeks as the story of stupefied wizard scouts.
"Were the boys upset?" he said when she paused expectantly.
Her exuberant laughter told him the answer before she said, "No, they thought it was brilliant!" She jumped onto the mattress and scooted over to nestle close to his side. "The scout leader was cool. Hamish invited me to dinner. He and his wife are barbequing sausages and brisket for their troops. Fiona's a witch guide leader."
Remus couldn't resist teasing, "Perhaps they'll ask you to be an assistant leader."
Nymphadora draped herself over him. "I can't manage to tie you to a bedpost. How the stars would I manage any of that camping/crafty sh—stuff?"
"I'm sure you'd find a way."
"Uh huh. I'd rather find a way around your Marauder spells and tie you to the bedposts." She kissed him lingeringly. "Now that I finally have some to tie you to."
He smiled when she said, "Accio scarves," thinking it might be in his best interests to pretend not to be able to break free.
-
Upon his return to Salford, Remus thought wryly that it might be in his best interest to shut the door to the flat and pretend not to have seen his flatmate in a compromising position. Before he could completely shut the door, he heard a throat clear behind him.
"I'm looking for Lillie Agar. I was told she was here."
Remus turned to see a stout witch with a determined gaze. It was Delia Bowen. In London, the bitter woman had challenged his recommendations of neutrality every time the issue came up at the group they both attended. She didn't seem any happier to see him here. Her bear-like eyes narrowed. "You, the pacifist, in Salford? Since when?"
The door was yanked inward, forestalling his answer. An attractive young woman with large dark eyes and hair pulled back in a ponytail stood wrapped in a sheet. "You want me to leave right this bloody damned minute, Mum? Whatevs. I'll march down the street like this!" She pushed past Remus, sparing a scowl for her mother. A group of boys at the end of the row whistled.
Remus glanced at Delia. She spat, "Lillie takes after her father."
The girl threw over her shoulder, "Guess what, Mum? Will says Lupin's girlfriend is even younger than Dad's!"
Treating him to a glare of utter contempt, Delia stomped off after her daughter.
Shrugging off his puzzlement over the odd shift in conversation, Remus entered the flat. Will was dressed, thankfully. The young man shot him a sour look. "You have the worst timing. Next time knock louder, will you?"
"My apologies," said Remus, "for expecting you to be getting ready for a two o'clock meeting at half past one."
A comical expression of panic crossed Will's face. He ran a hand over his hair, lifted his arm and sniffed. The boy smiled. "I'm ready."
Remus lifted his small case. "I'll put this upstairs."
"No time for that," said Will. "We want to be early."
"Very well." Remus set down the case on a table and opened the door. "After you."
-
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A/N: Ha! Just when long-time readers thought I couldn't use another Princess Bride quote in a fic, one comes to mind out of the blue. Count Rugen told Inigo, "You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance." I think readers will agree that Remus' sense...and other attributes...are very nicely developed! Special thanks to a reader for catching what I'm sure my fab-but-on-vacation beta would have, that I'd forgotten to have Arthur tell Tonks it was his last day because he'd been promoted! Ah, well, to edit is divine, and for those who didn't know there had been an edit, you have Ioci to thank. :) The readers I'd like to thank for taking time out of holidays or busy schedules to review, but I'll have to do it without hearts, because bloody ff took special characters off the website! (robbing me of all the hearts between all the names of reviewers in every previous story. WAH! They're heartless! Literally! ) are 40/16, alix33, bloodybludgers14, Calenmarwen, DarkKyubi, ElspethBates, FNP, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, Ioci, Io.sono.Emilia, ishandtwofourths, Kates Master, Kylie1403, ladyofthebookworms, MollyCoddles, Moontime, n1264, Operamuse, potteronpotluvhim, remus R us, Sophia Loren, sunny9847, tambrathegreat, and UnderworldBabe.