Teddy indeed recovered from his fight with Whooping Cough quickly, and the following Monday morning, Andromeda and Tonks prepared their thestrals, now recovered enough from the storm to be able to travel. However, Andromeda examined them herself and tsked out loud.
"What is it, Mum?" asked Tonks, packing a few food items into a basket she was taking with her.
"They won't be able to fly as far as I was hoping."
Tonks sighed. "Will they make it to Turkey?"
Andromeda nodded. "Yes, of course they will. But our trips will have to be significantly shorter, and closer to the ground too. "
Tonks nodded and picked up Teddy, who was lying on a small blanket, enjoying the morning sunshine. "Well, we won't need to make an extended stop in Cairo, as we've already had quite a break here."
Andromeda nodded. "Indeed. Well, I suppose after we spend the night in Istanbul, we could make it to Jordan in a day…now where is Charlie?"
Tonks looked around. Charlie was absent. Tonks bit her lip. She had specifically told Charlie to meet her and Andromeda for takeoff at 9:00 on the dot!
"We can't wait," said Andromeda. "The wind isn't going to be good for takeoff when it shifts."
Tonks nodded. "Well, I suppose….we should just…go on without him?"
Andromeda nodded. "Yes."
Tonks felt something in her chest drop. She's gone to great lengths to convince her mother to allow Charlie to string along, and now he was tardy. What a way to pay her back.
"Mum, you can take Teddy, then. Charlie said he'd pick out a nice steady dragon for him and Teddy to ride safely, on, but I guess—"
Suddenly, a rush of wind and a shadow cut Tonks off. The loud cry of a Short-Horned Greenscale dragon rang out in her ears. Looking up, Tonks saw the dragon spiraling through the air, flipping upside down and flying with the steady and grace of an airplane. Charlie Weasley rode on its' back, hollering and whooping with daredevil's delight as he showed off for Tonks. Tonks looked startled. Andromeda actually smiled a little bit at the corners of her mouth.
Charlie, after a few moments of his proud flight, landed the Greenscale about 30 feet away from Tonks and her thestral. He hopped off and ran with incredible energy over to the two women. Charlie beamed like a teenager on a flying motorbike.
Andromeda sniffed. "You honestly think I'm letting my grandson ride on that thing now after that…exquisite display?"
Charlie laughed, and Tonks looked a little nervous. "Just getting it out of my system, Mrs. Tonks. Let me see the little man, Tonks," he asked. Tonks passed the baby over to Charlie. Teddy's hair turned cotton-candy blue. Tonks sighed with relief. It was better that he liked Charlie ad trusted him rather than opposed and fought against him on the ride. Andromeda let out a small, insignificant grunt that Charlie somehow managed to hear anyways.
"Oh let me introduce you, Mrs. Tonks," Charlie said, motioning towards the dragon. Andromeda hesitated, but when Tonks decided to follow Charlie, Andromeda figured she had no choice.
The dragon didn't look at all dangerous to Tonks. But she did remain a little skeptical, for Teddy's sake. She knew Andromeda didn't disapprove of Charlie either, but it was all about the child.
Charlie smiled at the dragon as they came within inches of it. "This is Mashka." Charlie held Teddy securely, but closely to the dragon's big head. Tonks held her breath. Mashka sniffed, then let out a small bit of her tongue and caressed Teddy's face. Teddy giggled in delight. "Short-Horned Greenscales are remarkable. The females are incredibly maternal, even to those outside their species!"
Tonks looked at her mother. "I think she's lovely," she said, keeping her eyes on Andromeda. Andromeda looked at the dragon and inspected it visually for another second before nodding in agreement.
An awkward moment of silence ensued. Andromeda broke it. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have to be in Istanbul by sunset!"
Being up in the air after a week of resting actually was a sweet relief for Tonks. It meant she was once again growing closer to seeing Remus again. The happiness made Tonks change her hair length. While keeping it red (she still didn't know if the cruel French Aurors were chasing after her) she curled it and shortened the length to about the bottom of her shoulder blades. The air was warm and bright, and they were flying on a nice, tranquil sunny day, which made the feeling in Tonks' blood even better.
The trio flew in a formation, on the advice of Andromeda, only because she wanted to avoid another mess like before during the storm. For even though there weren't any clouds in sight, Andromeda couldn't help but feel a little nervous in case another wind came in unexpectedly. Tonks flew the highest in altitude and out front on her thestral, the fastest of the three. Charlie with Teddy on Mashka the Dragon flew a little lower and in the middle. Andromeda kept a middle-height and brought up the rear.
Most of the day was an eventless, steady trip. The sun kept the weather nice. No incidents or problems arose. Even some of the local birds flew with them for awhile, at least until Mashka began trying to get in on their little games, frightening the birds away. Tonks, while still not feeling what she would personally define as 'happy,' felt the most content that she had in a long time, possibly since before Remus' death. She could have sworn she could hear his voice in the wind as it brushed by her ears. Yes, it was! He was calling for her, and she was answering his call. He was only just beyond the horizon, waiting in the Himalayan Mountains for her!
Soon, it was getting close to dusk. So far, Charlie seemed to be keeping very steady with Teddy on Mashka. Looking over her shoulder, Tonks smiled to see Teddy asleep, nestled in Charlie's free arm. Charlie caught her looking and smiled back up at Tonks, winking. Tonks rolled her eyes and looked straight ahead again. Suddenly, a cluster of buildings and onion-shaped church roofs appeared out of the corner of Tonks' eye. She turned and called loudly to Charlie and Andromeda.
"There's Istanbul! We need to start our descent and land outside the city so the Muggles don't see Mashka!"
Charlie and Andromeda both gave Tonks a 'thumbs up' signal, and the three flyers began descending over Istanbul as the dusk sky turned red.
Once hiding Mashka and the thestrals was taken care of, the four travelers ventured into Istanbul for a hotel room. At Andromeda's insistence, Charlie got his own room, and Andromeda, Tonks, and Teddy got a room of their own. Andromeda ordered that tea be sent to both rooms, and then she took a long shower. Upon coming out of the bathroom, she sighed.
"Ugh, no matter how clear the day is, I always land and feel like I'm covered in dust!" she moaned, running a hand through her thick brown hair. Tonks nodded, rocking Teddy up and down in her lap.
"Mum, you have to admit Charlie was very good with Teddy today when we were in the air."
"So he was," Andromeda nodded. "Oh, I suppose we can let him go a little further with us."
Tonks smiled to herself and nodded. "I knew you'd see reason soon enough."
Andromeda ran another hand through her hair, as if she was combing it out with her long, bony fingers. "He's taken quite a liking to Teddy, and vice versa."
"Yes," Tonks agreed. "It's good that he does."
"Nymphadora," Andromeda began. "I can't help but think you should open your heart more to Charlie."
"Mum, what the hell do you mean?"
Andromeda sat down on the bed beside her daughter, and took teddy into her own arms. "Charlie's obviously smitten with you—"
"—but I'm not smitten with him, Mum."
"I'm just saying, don't rule out that one day…perhaps he might propose to you…and if he does, I would expect you to accept."
Tonks groaned and got to her feet, exasperated. "Haven't we already been through this?! Merlin! It's been a grand total of a MONTH and already you're trying to peddle a second husband on me! You're no better than Molly Weasley!"
"Nymphadora, try to understand! I just want to be sure you're taken care of and provided for!" Andromeda argued.
Tonks had to grit her teeth tightly together to prevent herself from yelling loud enough for the next door guests to hear. "Mum, we're GOING to see REMUS—"
"—YES! But we're NOT bringing him back with us!! For Merlin's sake, can't you realize that?!" Andromeda snapped. Tonks was silent. A sudden wave of realization came over her. It was true. She'd actually psyched herself into thinking she was going to RETRIEVE Remus and bring him back to the land of the living. Feeling a weight in her chest sinking down into her stomach, Tonks went over to the mirror and looked at herself. Her lower lip trembled at the sight of her. Her once curvy figure had melted into skin and bone. Her hair didn't look the same when it was red as it did when it was pink. She had huge bags under her eyes. She looked almost like a feminine form of the WANTED posters for Sirius when he was on the run (she never realized just how much like Sirius she looked). The trip wasn't even half over, and here she was, looking a good 15 years ahead of her time. What exactly was happening to her? What would Remus have to say?
Meanwhile, Andromeda realized what she'd just said to her daughter, and how distressed it made her. Seeing Tonks like this made Andromeda's stomach lurch forward. Andromeda put Teddy down on the bed and went to try and embrace Tonks, but Tonks shoved her mother away.
"Leave me ALONE!!" Tonks cried, tears pouring out of her eyes. How stupid could she have been? Keeping such a dumb fantasy that somehow making it to the Borderland was going to bring Remus back for good. She was going to miss out on so much with him! While still under this unfortunate illusion, Tonks had seen herself and Remus having a blast raising Teddy together: taking him to Quidditch games, consoling him when he gets his heart broken the first time, giggling when Remus attempted to give him 'the great sex talk,' convincing him that dental braces 'are just for awhile,' seeing him traveling off on the Hogwarts Express every September 1st…and none of this would happen now. And Tonks had sincerely thought it could.
"Nymphadora, just listen to—"
"—get away from me!" Tonks expressed forcefully, heading to the door.
Andromeda raised a thick eyebrow. "Where do you think you are going?"
"I'm…going home," Tonks said. Andromeda's eyes went wide.
"Surely you're joking!" Andromeda looked almost afraid that Tonks really was about to cave in.
Tonks shook her head, grabbing her knapsack from under her bed and quickly opening it to make sure all her belongings were still inside. "Mum, I can't live this lie anymore. It's not healthy. You were right all along, Mum. It's better just to face it. I DO need to face it. I need to face the facts and get home where Teddy and I belong…"
"After getting this far? And as I recall, YOU were the one who came up with the brilliant idea to take this little journey!" Andromeda said back. "I'm not going to have you backing out now, Nymphadora!"
"I don't care! You and Charlie can move on by yourselves! I just need to go home," Tonks said. She quickly left the room and gently shut the door behind her before her mother could say another word.