"What do you want?" said Nymphadora.

Will smirked.

Remus saw the dangerous gleam in his lover's eye. She was about to wipe the smirk off the boy's face. He took her hand.

After a few seconds, the tension left her grip. I know, I know, I should let you handle this; her rueful expression seemed to say.

He smiled a little. Yes, you should.

Will cleared his throat. "Ahem. Remember me? The bloke you need to keep quiet?"

Remus gave the young man a warning look. "If money is what you want, I'll tell Dix myself before I pay you a knut of extortion."

Will shook his head. "I want you to teach me, Professor."

I should have expected this, Remus thought. His anger, his envy, the way he watched so intensely every time a spell was cast. All signs I ignored, because I didn't want to see them.

Nymphadora broke the silence. "Teach you what? Latin?"

Will flushed. "More than that. Magic."

"No." Remus' answer was automatic.

Nymphadora squeezed his fingers. "You're thinking about what will happen if you fail. Don't. Will's a big boy. He won't cry." She gave him a meaningful look. "Consider the possibilities if you succeed!"

"The pack will trust you"was the unspoken message.

If only it was that simple, Remus thought. He said, "No wand maker would fit him for a wand, and borrowing one would be perilous to a novice."

"We'll research wand lore, then. Find a way to make it work."

Remus exhaled heavily. "And if there is no way?"

She took a step closer. "Teach him wandless magic!" Before he could do more than frown, Nymphadora said, "Sixth years learn wandless magic, even nonverbal spells."

"After years—"

"Yes!" she cried. "Years. It takes maturity. Younger wizards and witches don't have the strength of will to use themselves as a continual focus for magic. Will is nineteen."

"I'm not a kid," said Will.

Remus kept his gaze on Nymphadora.

Her eyes blazed with conviction. "He might never be able to cast complex spells, but any spell, any degree of magic-wielding is better than nothing!" Her voice lowered beguilingly. "You'll prove your loyalty to the pack and give Will an opportunity he's never had before. Say yes."

"Listen to the one who wears the trousers, Lupin." Will chuckled. "She's got bollocks for the both or you."

When Nymphadora rounded on Will, looking ready to hex, Remus let go of her hand and caught her arm. She stared at him blankly.

"Go upstairs," Remus said.

"What?"

He kept his tone and expression stern. "This is none of your concern. Go upstairs."

A blush stole over her face. "And await you naked?" She jerked her arm away. "Yes, Master."

Will's eyebrows disappeared beneath his fringe as Nymphadora stalked out of the room.

Stomping footsteps were heard. A door slammed.

"Damn, old man," said Will. "You really know how to control your—"

"—be silent." Remus was at odds. A hot-headed youth with a grudge against wizards was the last person who should be taught to use magic, and yet, wasn't the Ministry's regulations against werewolves greatly responsible for Will's hostility? Didn't it stand to reason that if the boy had an option other than following the Dark Lord, he might take it?

Will was even less patient with silence than Nymphadora. "Are you going to teach me or not?"

"Why should I?"

"You...because...what Nym said."

Remus stood silent.

A muscle in Will's jaw flexed as he tried and failed to control his emotions. He said, "Because I'm tired of being treated like I'm useless! I want to learn, and if you don't teach me, I'll teach myself!"

Slowly, Remus nodded. "I need time to do research. Then I'll teach you."

A grin stretched the boy's face from ear to ear. "Brilliant! I've got to tell Lillie. She said you'd do it!" Will bounded toward the door, stopped, and came back to hold out his hand. "Thank you," he said gruffly.

"Thank me by telling no one except Lillie. If this venture is unsuccessful..."

"It won't be," said Will. "I'll still tell her to keep her mouth shut, though." Pale green eyes lit with mischief. "Wonder if I could get her to say 'yes, master.' That'd be cool."

"Or earn a Freezing Hex."

Will sniggered. "Is that what you expect? Hilarious."

Remus waited until the front door closed to walk upstairs. In all honesty, he didn't know what kind of reception awaited him. He could be hit with a Jelly Legs or pressed against the wall and snogged. He might end up jinxed and kissed, or find his lover on the bed wearing nothing but a challenging smile.

Inside the room, Nymphadora stood beside the window. She leaned a bare shoulder against wall as she looked out into the night. "I was going to strip completely, but I didn't want to give prospective Peeping Toms a thrill."

Her lacy red bra and matching panties were the only splash of vivid colour in the room. Remus said, "I find the view thrilling."

"Thanks."

As she continued to stare out the window, Nymphadora's profile gave little clue to what she was thinking. Remus slipped off his shoes and sat on the edge of the bed to remove his socks. "Do you know why I spoke to you as I did downstairs?"

"Yeah. Wolf stuff. I didn't mean to, but I came across as dominant. You had to show Will that I wasn't or he wouldn't respect you."

Remus unbuttoned his shirt. The flat tone of her voice worried him. "If I hurt your feelings, I'm sorry."

Nymphadora turned to face him. "I'm not upset because you went Alpha male on me." She walked toward him. "It didn't hurt my feelings." In a quick move, she lunged, pinning him back against the mattress, holding his wrists above his head. "It got me hot."

Her knees pressed against his sides. In their current position, he was tempted to use a simple Finite Incantatem to cause her breasts to spill out of the low-cut bra.

In an admirable demonstration of flexibility, she kissed him. "Now I'm going to have to go Alpha female on you, to prove that I'm not the only one who likes their mate strong and sexy."

"Oh, I like it," Remus murmured, after a deep, hot kiss. He could smell desire exuding like perfume from her skin, sweet and musky.

"But do you love it?"

It would take little effort to break her hold and reverse their positions. He didn't move. Instead, he began to concentrate on a nonverbal spell. "Let me show you how much."

Later, when her fingers stroked lazy patterns on his chest, Remus told her about his meeting with Dix. He asked, "What delayed you at the castle?" His lips twitched. "Was Severus once again petitioning for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position?"

"He told me he's already got it."

"When?" Remus was stunned. Why was Dumbledore allowing Severus to take the position? What did it mean?

"When I asked him to make a deal."

Remus sat up. "Why did you ask him to do such a thing?"

"You know why. I need Snape to teach me how to brew Wolfsbane. He needs an assistant. We made a deal."

"He's never had an assistant before."

Nymphadora sat up to face him. "Maybe he got tired of plucking half-digested beetles off sundews."

The night was starting to feel like a fall down a rabbit hole. Remus ran a hand over his face. "Begin at the beginning, please," he said, "and go on until you come to the end."

"Then stop?" Nymphadora smile was wry. "You've told me that before. It fits tonight, too, with my adventures in wonderland, or rather the Forbidden Forest." She saw his expression and laughed. It sounded nervous. "I forgot about all that during—" She waved a hand around. "All this." She drew in a deep breath. "Okay. First I went to go see Dumbledore..."

Flooded with details, Remus concentrated on the most important points. After his love finished sharing, he said, "When you return to Hogsmeade, owl Dumbledore and tell him I have no plans to assume Peter's identity ever again. Once was quite enough." He could still remember the bitter taste in his mouth.

"What about Snape?" Nymphadora held out her arms and flapped her hands. "Do you think he's an Animagus gargoyle?"

"No. Gargoyles aren't real. They're fantastic creatures carved in stone."

She lowered her arms and moved her fingers back and forth. "Then he really is a malevolent bat? No wonder he smirked when students muttered that in class." She made a face. "I thought he just got his jollies taking House points." Suddenly, her expression shifted, as if an upsetting thought had just occurred. "If Snape's an Animagus, then he must have transformed me into a mouse or something. The biggest bat in the world couldn't fly a human out of the forest." Her hands balled into fists. "What if he'd gotten hungry?"

"Mega-bats eat fruit, not mice," said Remus, "but I wonder if the answer isn't simpler. He used a Feather-light Spell...or the master has taught his servant to fly."

"Which master? Dumbledore or You-Know-Who?"

"Can a man serve two masters? Your Gran's priest would say a man will hate the one and love the other." Remus' brow furrowed. "Which master does Severus Snape truly serve?"

"Dumbledore trusts him. He must have a reason." Nymphadora's shoulders rose and fell. "Snape didn't leave me to the spiders. That's enough for me."

"But why didn't he wake you?" asked Remus. "That seems suspicious."

"It's obvious," she said with a snort. "He didn't want answer questions about how he got us there." Nymphadora's tone became cheeky. "Are you worrying that Snape got a grope in after he dumped me on the bed? He didn't."

"How do you know?" Remus felt like a territorial animal bristling at the thought of another male near his mate.

Her eyes sparkled with laughter. "I didn't wake up clean, in a sheer nightie, with a wet flannel and a basin of cloudy water on the table. I was covered in muck. And when I undressed to take a shower, there was dried mud in places there wouldn't have been if any funny stuff had gone on." She leaned forward and rubbed his mouth with hers. "Including my lips."

He kissed her until she sagged against him.

She made a bereft-sounding whimper when he left the bed. "Where are you going? To get a drink of water?"

Remus smiled. From the way Nymphadora eyes rounded, it must have looked wolfish. "I'm going to get a basin of water and a flannel."

In the corridor, he laughed softly when he heard, "Bring two flannels."

Hours later, Nymphadora awoke him with a kiss. "I'd better catch the Knight Bus if I want to get back to Hogsmeade in time for patrol."

Remus stretched out a hand to caress her abdomen. "I'll make breakfast first. Your stomach is rumbling."

"Okay."

While his partner dressed, Remus slipped on his robe and padded downstairs. The lounge held only two futons. Will had spent the night away from home.

Content to be alone with Nymphadora, Remus whistled as he checked to see what food had managed to escape a growing boy's never-ending appetite.

"Mmm, you're frying up bubble and squeak." Nymphadora's hands slid over his backside before she hugged him from behind.

Remus said, "Will ate the leftover roast, but not the veg. Mash potatoes, carrots and onions aren't fancy, but they go well enough with eggs and tomato." He grinned at her over his shoulder. "You said 'bubble' while fondling my posterior. Any particular reason?"

Her exuberant laughter brought sunshine into the dreary kitchen. "Your bum is perfect, nothing like a bubble. If you don't believe me..."

"You'll write a limerick?"

"No, I'll do a bum check!" She dropped her hands as she spoke and pinched before he could turn. "Perfect, just like I said."

Remus pulled Nymphadora into his arms. "One good pinch deserves another, I always say."

She giggled when his hands cupped her derrière.

They both jumped when they heard a throat clear. "AHEM!"

Will had returned. He was accompanied by his girlfriend.

Lillie was staring at the other woman's tee shirt. "You like MegaMaggot?"

"Doesn't everybody? I'm Nym."

"Lillie. My mum thinks they're stupid wizards making noise, not music."

"Tell her to listen to the song The Beast Inside," said Nymphadora. "I think she'd find herself able to identify with Jonas' lyrics."

"Ha!" Will said to his girlfriend. "Told you the drummer had to be a werewolf."

Lillie punched him in the arm. "Shut up, you! Nobody likes a know-it-all."

"You do."

While the others chatted, Remus used spells to enlarge the portions of food and keep it warm. He waited for a lull to say, "Have you two had breakfast? There's plenty."

The young couple—who appeared on the verge of either a fight or a snog—burst into laughter.

"Told you he'd feed us," Lillie crowed.

"Know-all," Will shot back.

Remus served Nymphadora first, whispering in her ear, "So much for a peaceful breakfast with the woman I love."

She pecked him on the lips. "Think of it as practise for parenting. You'll be a brilliant father one day."

A father? Him? Remus dished up a plate for Lillie. It was one thing to fantasise, and quite another to hear the words said aloud. When he handed Will breakfast, Remus was overwhelmed by troubling thoughts. Would my child be a werewolf? Would I doom him to a life as bitter as Will's?

Appetite ruined, he placed food on his plate and followed the others into the lounge.

-

Tonks Apparated from Remus' front steps to the nearest shopping centre. At such an early hour, the pub with a Floo connection was closed. Not even the homeless wandered the streets. She held out her wand arm, sticking her thumb up like a Muggle hitchhiker. If she had the confidence to Apparate long distances, she wouldn't take the Knight Bus.

Crack!

A purple triple-decker bus appeared out of thin air, screeching to a halt beside her.

"Wotcher, Ernie!" Tonks said to the elderly driver perched on the seat. He looked like an owl, peering at her through thick glasses.

He shook his head. "Algernon. Ernie's m'brother. Destination?"

"Hogsmeade."

The bus wasn't the same without Stan. The replacement conductor lounged on a bed, reading a book. He didn't even glance up when she tossed a ticket onto the coverlet. Tonks didn't feel slighted. She was relieved that the bus had not switched the beds for chairs yet. She was sleepy.

Five of the brass beds were occupied, so she climbed onto the last available one. No sooner did her knee hit the mattress than the bus took off.

Crack!

Tonks tumbled over and discovered why no one had chosen her bed. It had an enormous depression in the centre of the mattress. She conjured a pillow and looked on the bright side. She wouldn't roll off.

She fell into a deep sleep, awakening only when the conductor yelled, "Hogsmeade!"

When her feet were on the ground and the bus had disappeared from sight, Tonks belatedly realised that she hadn't been specific when giving her destination. She was standing in front of the Hog's Head. The gory sign creaked back and forth, the rusty sound more offensive than the "blood" dripping from the painted image of a decapitated hog. "I'm so lucky not to live here," Tonks muttered.

"It's not that bad," said a voice behind her. "The barkeep's a decent cook."

Dawlish—damn! She turned with a breezy smile. "I hope you volunteer to clear the dishes. From what I've seen, householdy spells aren't that bloke's forte."

"No, they're not." His expressionless voice took on a steely cast. "Why were you absent without my leave?"

He was old enough to be her father, but that didn't mean Tonks was going to let Dawlish treat her like a wayward teenager. "I didn't need permission. I wasn't on holiday. I went out and then I came back. End of story."

"I require—"

"—me to do my job? No problem. I'll go get my broom and—"

"—take mine." Dawlish held out a Nimbus racing broom. "When you get back, bring it to my office. We need to talk."

After he marched away, Tonks smacked her palm against her forehead. Why didn't I play dumb? I could've said, 'Did I need permission to leave the village? Gosh, the Auror manual says leave is only needed for holidays.' He would've bought it. Now I'm in for a lecture and stars knows what else!

She used a Warming Charm and mounted the broom. It didn't brighten her mood that Dawlish's broomstick was better than hers. She pushed the speed to the maximum. The slight hesitation before the Acceleration Charm kicked in revealed that her superior never utilised his broom to its fullest potential. It was just as she thought. Dawlish was the type that played it safe and did everything by the numbers. He would have been better suited to riding a Cleansweep.

Before she returned to the Hog's Head, Tonks stopped by Three Broomsticks. The MegaMaggot tee with a red bra peeking from the armholes would give Mr. Rules and Regulations a negative opinion of her professionalism. She took a quick shower and changed into a white blouse and khaki green trousers.

"I didn't expect you back for another quarter hour," said Dawlish, placing a mug down upon the desk. His eyes narrowed. "Were you speeding?"

Tonks said straight-faced, "I fly efficiently." She handed over the broom. "Thanks for letting me borrow the Nimbus. It's a great ride."

He examined the broomstick closely. "Have a seat." Apparently reassured that she hadn't bent a twig or scratched the finish, he placed the broom in what looked like a specially made rack on the wall.

Penetrating eyes gave Tonks the feeling of being examined like a broomstick. Dawlish said, "This is not the usual Auror assignment."

Drawn out silence made it clear he expected a response. She crossed her legs. "Yes, sir." Tonks noticed her boss gazing at her combat boots and placed both feet on the floor. What did he expect her to wear: white sandals?

"Then you will agree that in this unique situation, it is vital to the safety of those residing in the village and Hogwarts that Aurors be available at all times."

"Yes, sir."

Granite-like features softened. "Then from now on, you will account for your whereabouts at all times, asking permission before you leave the village."

There was no way to sugar coat her answer. "No, sir. I'll send my Patronus to inform you if I leave, and I'll keep you notified of my whereabouts when I'm on duty, but my off duty hours are mine to spend at my own discretion, as stated in the Auror manual."

Dawlish smiled mirthlessly. "The manual. I never expected you to resort to that." He shook his head. "You didn't play Quidditch, did you?"

"No, sir."

"If you had, you'd know what happens to those who forget to be team players." He leaned forward. "They fly extra laps." Dawlish picked up a quill and drew a line through a name on a parchment. "Savage was on the schedule for night patrol this week. He'll be informed that you are now assigned the duty."

"Yes, sir." If you think I'm going to protest, I won't, you bastard!

The clock on the wall chimed. Dawlish's lips curved, but his eyes were hard. "I put myself on the midday patrol of the school, but I think you are better suited to the task."

"Yes, sir," she said, keeping her head down so her contempt wouldn't show. Am I supposed to break down into tears and promise to be a good Auror from now on? Tonks thought. Don't hold your breath. I'd rather stay busy than sit around worrying about Remus anyway.

An hour later, she turned the pear-shaped handle to enter the Hogwarts kitchen. Strolling around talking to ghosts really gave a girl an appetite. She smiled at the savoury aromas wafting from the rotisseries that magically turned themselves.

A scuffle in the back corner of the room drew her attention. House-elves were grouped in a circle, jostling to see whatever was happening in the centre.

"No! I will not wear it! You cannot make me!" an elf cried.

"Take his towel! Take his towel!" the rest of the elves chanted.

Tonks saw red. She cast a Sonorous Charm to raise her shout above all the others. "Stand back or I send for the Headmaster!"

In the twinkling of an eye, every elf had vanished, except one. He pointed a gnarled finger at her.

She lifted her wand.

"YOU!"

-

A/N: I think everyone knows who the elf Tonks saved is...and didn't you miss him, just a little? Special Thanks to MollyCoddles for reminding me of the Feather-light spell and WriterMerrin for asking why Tonks took the Knight Bus instead of Apparating. Tonks envied Snape his ability to Apparate long distances in a night duty scene in Moonlight and Shadow, but I don't expect everyone to remember--although if any reader does, I'll envy them their memory! LOL. For those of you who believe gargoyles are real, Luna would agree, and tell Tonks and Remus they live in the Land of Naught. A wizard by the name of L. Frank Baum said so. :D. As for why I gave Ernie Prang a brother named Algernon—who could resist a nod to The Importance of Being Earnest? The readers who didn't resist the urge to make my day with a review were... 40/16, alix33, Alone All Along, Arcamion, Calenmarwen, cupcakeswirl, derangedfangirl, Enorance, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, giftedfred, Ioci, Irin Black, ishandtwofourths, Jeland, ladyofthebookworms, lbf1412, littledevildrummagirl, Lizet M, Meltalviel, Mir, MollyCoddles, Moontime, Mrs. Hermione Jane Weasley, n1264, Operamuse, RahNee, remus R us, Sivaroobini Lupin-Black, Sophia Loren, Squirrly Donut, sunny9847, tambrathegreat, the-purple-black, UnderworldBabe, worldsapart and Ziroana.