A/N: What a long time it's been! I'm so sorry for the ridiculous delay…aside from the work issues, I had some computer problems that required a brand new laptop to fix! So, yay for my new computer, and yay for the new chapter!

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

I don't own the Harry Potter universe.

Repercussions

"Hi."

Olivia took one look at Remus's distraught face and sighed. "What did you do to her this time?"

Remus sat down and buried his face in his hands. "I told her that I love her."

Olivia stared at him in wonder. "What?" she whispered.

Remus looked up miserably. "I told her that I love her," he repeated.

"Remus!" Olivia exclaimed. She ran across the room and jumped onto the couch next to him. "Congratulations!" she yelled, throwing her arms around him. "I knew you could do it!"

"Liv, please," he muttered.

She pulled back and looked at him in surprise. "You just told the woman you've been in love with for quite some time how you feel. You're supposed to be considerably happier than you are right now."

"How can I be happy?" Remus asked miserably. "I've ruined everything."

"You do realize that you're being a drama queen, right?" Olivia asked with a hint of a smile.

"Don't joke, Liv."

She sighed again. "Remus, what is so terrible about telling her that you love her?"

"I walked away from her," he said. "I told her that I love her, and I bolted out the door."

"Well, it's not exactly what most women want to see happen …"

"But it's what always happens between Tonks and me," Remus said. "She wants me to love her, and I do, which she now knows, but I won't let her throw her life away on me. She ends up hating me for 'creating obstacles' to our relationship, and I …" He trailed off into silence.

"And you?" Olivia prompted quietly.

Remus was silent for a moment, staring at the floorboards. When he spoke, his eyes refused to meet Olivia's and his voice was no more than a whisper. "I hate her for making me fall in love again."

"Remus," Olivia whispered, taking his hand in hers.

He shook his head. "I wish it could be different."

"Don't you see?" Olivia said. "It can be! You don't have to feel guilty for loving her. Laura died years ago, Remus. She didn't expect you to remain faithful to her memory. You know that. You told me how she felt about that."

"I know," Remus said. "It's not Laura's memory that's stopping me – not the way that you think."

"Enlighten me."

He sighed. "Do you think that I didn't know what she went through with me? All the transformations, all the broken furniture and smashed walls … all the bandages, all the pain, all the bruises, all the days when she couldn't touch me for fear of hurting me more than I had hurt myself … I don't want Tonks to have to live through that. I don't want her to be a werewolf's wife."

"She's strong enough to do it, Remus. We both know she is."

"Tonks is one of the strongest people I've ever known," he said quickly. "I'm not suggesting that she isn't strong enough to deal with me. I just don't want her to have to."

"You're not afraid that you would hurt her, are you?" Olivia asked slowly.

"Physically? A bit … but not really. Laura and I were together for years, and I never hurt her. But, emotionally – yes. I am afraid." He drew a deep breath.

"She's not as emotionally fragile as you think."

Remus shook his head and looked away again. "Laura was wonderful, you know. She would leave the night of the full moon to stay with Lily while James came to stay with me. Then, she'd come home in the morning to find her husband unconscious and in terrible pain." Tears filled his eyes. "She was a saint. She would bandage me up and put me back together every single month. She never, never complained about it." He finally raised his eyes to meet Olivia's again. "But, Liv, I could see how much pain it caused her to see me in pain like that. I don't want Tonks to have to live though what Laura did. I don't want to cause her that kind of pain."

"Remus," Olivia whispered. "Don't you think …?"

"I'm tired of thinking," he interrupted. "Can't we just sit in silence for awhile?"

"Okay."

Olivia laced her fingers through his, and put her head down on his shoulder. He smiled slightly, then laid his cheek on top of her head.

And they sat like that in silence.

Tonks's hands covered her face as she sobbed. Hot tears squeezed out between her fingers and ran over the backs of her hands. How could he do this to her? How could she let him do this to her again?

She sat down on the couch and tried to stop crying. She couldn't let him turn her into a crying mess every time she saw him. It just wasn't healthy.

"I have a mission to run," she said, exhaling deeply and wiping away her tears. "I can't go to pieces like this. I have a school to defend."

She stood and went to her desk, ready to work out a new plan of defense for the school. This had to be a plan that no poisoned necklace could destroy.

"Do you feel better?" Olivia asked quietly after a time.

"I suppose," Remus said. He kissed the top of her head and sat up straighter. "How did things go with John? Tell me all about it."

"Actually, things with John went quite well. It's things with Tonks that I'm worried about."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"John … John admitted that he doesn't know how to run the department."

"Wow," Remus said, his eyes growing round. "That's pretty major."

"Yeah, I thought so. But, he said that he's realized that he needs help."

Understanding slowly dawned on Remus's face. "Are you saying …?"

Olivia nodded. "He's asked me to leave the Hogwarts mission so that I can help him run the department."

"And you said yes." It wasn't a question. Remus knew that Olivia would do anything for her older brother.

"How could I say no?" she asked quietly. "And I don't regret it. The only thing I'm worried about is how Tonks will take it."

"Is John going to tell her?"

"Knowing him, he'll send her a memo." She shook her head. "I want to tell her myself."

"I'm not sure that now would be the best time to do that."

"Yeah," Olivia said quietly. "You're probably right. But, I can't put it off. I'm supposed to be back at Hogwarts tomorrow."

Remus sighed. "Well, be gentle."

"Thanks for that bit of brilliance," she said sarcastically. "Without you here to help me, I'd probably just pop in and scream it at her."

"Must you always be that way?" Remus sighed.

She grinned at him as she got up off the couch. "You wouldn't love me half as much if I wasn't like this."

He smiled almost against his will. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Ah, yes, breaking the already broken heart of Tonks," she said. She blew Remus a kiss. "I'll see you soon, darling."

With that, she Disapparated. Remus shook his head, wondering if Olivia found him as exhausting as he sometimes found her.

"Who is it?"

"It's Olivia, Tonks," Olivia said, lowering the hand that had just rapped on Tonks's front door. "May I come in?"

The door opened slowly, revealing Tonks's pale, drawn face. She looked at Olivia suspiciously.

"Are you here to plead Remus's case?"

Olivia smiled slightly. "No. I've talked to him, but he didn't ask me to come here. This has nothing to do with him."

"All right, then," Tonks said, opening the door wider, inviting Olivia to enter. "I'm sorry, but I really can't stand the idea of talking about him right now."

"Understood," Olivia said, holding up her hands. "Remus and I have been friends since we were little kids, and sometimes I don't feel like talking about him."

A ghost of a smile flitted across Tonks's face. "What can I do for you?" she asked, leading Olivia to the living room.

Olivia sighed as she and Tonks sat down together on the couch. "Tonks, I've been to see John."

"Oh?" Tonks had absolutely no idea where this was going.

"Yeah. We had some issues to discuss … I sort of blew up at him on Christmas and told him that the department would be better off without him."

"You didn't," Tonks whispered, her eyes wide with shock. "I'll bet that went well."

"Yeah, it was ugly," Olivia acknowledged. "And, while I do think it's true, he's my brother, so I had to try to smooth things over. So, I went to see him today."

"And?"

"He agreed that the department isn't in the best shape."

"Wow," Tonks said, running her hand through her limp hair. "I didn't expect you to say that."

"I didn't expect to hear it," Olivia agreed. "Here's the thing, Tonks – he wants to try to fix it."

"That's great!" she said enthusiastically. "Did he tell you what he plans to do?"

"Yeah." She paused and bit her lip. "He wants help to run the department. My help."

Realization dawned in Tonks's eyes, and her face fell. "I suppose it's too much to hope for to suggest that he wants you to work on two assignments at once."

"I'm so sorry, Tonks," Olivia said, feeling inexplicable tears sting the backs of her eyes. "I've loved working with you, and I've loved defending the school, but this is my brother asking for my help. I can't say no to him – I've never been able to say no to him." She wiped her hand across her eyes. "I just wish I could help him and stay here with you at the same time."

Tonks grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "You do what you need to do, Liv. This isn't just better for your brother, it's better for your career. If you can help straighten out this mess of a department, it will certainly recommend you to take over as Head when John retires."

Olivia's eyes widened. "I wasn't thinking that far ahead."

Tonks shrugged. "It's true, though. And I know you'll be able to do a lot to help. You're a brilliant Auror."

"So are you," Olivia said. "I know that whoever they send in to replace me will really benefit from working with you."

"Thanks," Tonks said with a slight smile.

"Listen, I need to get back," Olivia said, squeezing Tonks's hand one last time. "I just wanted to tell you what's happening in person."

"Thank you," Tonks said, rising to see her guest to the door. "You have no idea how much I appreciate that."

Olivia smiled. "And, I know I promised not to talk about him, but what Remus told you today is true. He really does love you."

Unbidden tears filled Tonks's eyes. "Yeah, well, he has a funny way of showing it."

Olivia smiled sadly and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Tonks. About everything."

"Thanks," Tonks whispered, clinging to her for a moment. When she pulled back, she gave Olivia a slight smile. "Good luck with your new mission."

"Thanks. Good luck to you, too."

Tonks smiled again, and held the door for Olivia to leave. Once Olivia was gone and the door closed firmly behind her, the smile slid off Tonks's face.

"Shit," she whispered. "What am I going to do now?"

Refusing to even consider thinking about Remus, she sat back down with her reams of parchment full of strategies. With Olivia soon to be replaced, she was going to need to rethink all that she had planned.

Olivia reentered her house to find Remus packing a suitcase. She looked at him in surprise.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing," he replied.

"Thanks, Master of the Obvious," she said, rolling her eyes. "Let me ask a better question: Why are you packing?"

"I need to get back to my mission," he said simply. "I've been gone about as long as I can be without raising suspicions."

"When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I can be ready."

Olivia sighed and sat down on his bed. "Are you at least going to tell Tonks good bye?"

"I think I've done enough to her for one day, don't you?" he asked, raising eyes filled with pain to meet hers.

"Remus …"

"Please, Liv, don't. Just let me pack my things, tell you good bye, and vanish back into the realm of my equals."

"Don't you ever say that, Remus Lupin," she said fiercely. "You know you're far better than them."

"What gives me the right to say that?" he asked.

"Remus," she began again.

"Stop," he said. "I'm just in a mood, Liv, and, to be honest, can you blame me?"

She sighed as he snapped his suitcase closed. "When will you be back?"

He shrugged. "Whenever I can get away." He hugged her close. "I'm going to miss you, Liv. I wish I could be here to watch you whip the Aurors into shape."

She laughed against him. "I wish you were going to be here, too. I'll miss you so much."

He squeezed her tightly, then kissed her cheek. "I'll see you when I see you."

"Right," she said. "Take care of yourself."

"I will," he promised. "You do the same."

She nodded.

He gave her one last smile, and Disapparated.

To: N. Tonks

From: J. Alexander

RE: Hogwarts Mission Staff

I must inform you that O. Alexander will be removed from your mission effective immediately. She has been reassigned to a mission within the Ministry. This is not a reflection on your management skills; I simply feel that her talents would be better used elsewhere.

At this time, there are no available Aurors to replace her. I know this is inconvenient, but it is an unavoidable problem. I am certain that you will find a way to work with the somewhat diminished crew.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Rage filled Tonks. By the time she reached the last line of John's memo, she could barely read it as the parchment jumped under her shaking hands. She clenched and unclenched her jaw.

"He must be joking," she said. "This must be some sick, twisted joke."

But, even as she spoke the words, she knew it wasn't a joke. John Alexander did not joke about many things, and never about his job. He was taking Olivia to serve his own needs, and shorting her one Auror in the process.

"Damn you, you bloody bastard!" she screamed, balling up the memo and throwing it across the room.

She needed to get out. And she knew just whom to recruit to accompany her.

Remus entered his small house in the colony and set his suitcase on the floor. He sighed as he looked around. Everything was just as he had left it. He had managed to garner so much apathy from the others in the colony that they didn't even feel the need to vandalize his house while he was away.

He went into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. As he crossed the front room, he noticed an envelop lying on the floor. He assumed that it had come through the mail slot and slid to its current home.

He picked it up and immediately recognized Maureen's neat, small handwriting. Smiling slightly, he opened it.

"Dear Remus,

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm back. When you get all settled in, come around to say hello. I have so much to tell you!

"We'll talk soon.

"Maureen"

He smiled to himself as continued on his way into the kitchen. He put the letter on the table and went to retrieve a kettle. As much as he hated the idea of being back here, of leaving Tonks the way he had, seeing this letter from Maureen made him feel a bit better.

It was wonderful to have friends.

An hour after receiving the memo from John, Tonks was seated at a back table in the Three Broomsticks with Kingsley. Each of them had a butterbeer on the table – not that it was having the intended effect of making Tonks calmer.

"I really do appreciate the fact that Olivia came to tell me herself," she said, "but I'm sure she only did it because she knew how her brother would tell me!"

"She's not his keeper, Tonks," Kingsley said. "She wanted to tell you in person because she's a good person. She's your friend, and she was concerned about you."

"Regardless," Tonks said, waving that aside, "it doesn't change what happened. Why the bloody hell would John think that it's a good idea to take Aurors away from me? He knows as well as I do that Hogwarts isn't exactly getting any safer!"

"Things are calming down, though, aren't they?"

"What, you mean since a girl nearly died on my watch?"

"Tonks, it turned out okay. Katie's going to be fine."

"Yes, because there was just one, small tear in her glove," she said. "Because of that tear, she nearly died."

"Because of that tear, Dumbledore is safe," Kingsley countered. "Look, Tonks, I'm not trying to put a price on human life. I'm not trying to say that Dumbledore is more important that Katie – I'm sure he'd say that she's more important than he is. But, the reality is, you don't have control over everything that happens. This necklace thing could have gone so many ways. It could have been someone else who picked it up. Someone who wasn't wearing gloves. You can't be everywhere all the time."

"I know," she said. "And, now, thanks to John, I can't even be most places most of the time. UGH!" She gave a shriek and slammed her bottle back down on the table. "I can't believe he would leave me with one less Auror!"

"You can make this work," Kingsley said evenly. "I know you can make this work. You know you can make this work. So, the question is, why exactly are you so angry?"

Tonks opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Kingsley's deep baritone.

"You're angry at Remus," he said. "You're angry that he would make this declaration of love and leave you alone. You're angry that he won't give you a chance to make it work with him. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't be. Believe me, I think you're totally justified in your rage. But, you can't take it out on John or the Aurors who work on your team. You have to channel this anger toward Remus, and you have to find some way to deal with it, because, from what I hear, you won't have a chance to throw it in his face any time soon."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kingsley looked at her sympathetically. "He's gone back to the colony."

"What?" she whispered, the blood draining from her face. "Why would he go back there?"

"It's his job, love."

"Yeah, but …" She trailed off and bit her lip. "He didn't even come to tell me good bye."

Somehow, that one fact hurt more than anything else he had done.

After having his tea and unpacking his belongings, Remus made his way to Maureen's house. He knocked on the door, and only waited a moment before it was flung open. Remus frowned slightly, thinking that she should have waited to make sure it was him before opening the door.

"Remus! You're back!"

She hugged him and drew him into the house. He felt a smile replacing the frown as she began to talk quickly, asking how his trip was and if he wanted tea.

They sat together in her kitchen, drinking tea while she shared stories about her family and friends. When she finally paused, she looked at him closely.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, hating himself for letting it be so obvious. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," she said slowly. "You're just awfully quiet, that's all."

He sighed. "It's been a rough day."

"What happened?" she asked sympathetically, thinking that the others in the colony had done something to hurt him.

"It was stupid, really," he said. "I had a … a moment of weakness, and now I've left everything in a mess."

"You know, I've never been a fan of riddles."

Remus sighed. "You asked me before I left if I was going home to 'someone special.' I told you no, because I really didn't believe that I was. But …"

"I knew there was someone," she said softly.

He nodded. "I finally admitted that I love her."

"What are you doing here, then?" Maureen exclaimed. "You shouldn't be here with me, you should be with her!"

"It's … complicated."

"Love is supposed to be complicated."

"She's not a werewolf," he said quietly. "I can't bring her here, and I can't be there right now, so we're better off as friends."

"You told her that you love her, but that you can just be friends?"

"That's about it."

She shook her head. "I'll never understand men."

"You know, I've already gotten this lecture from my friends at home about a million times. Can we please just skip it?"

She shrugged. "You brought it up. If you don't like the course of the conversation, you're going to have to blame yourself."

"You're right," he sighed. "So, tell me all the neighborhood gossip. I'm sure you've got something for me."

Maureen began to talk about the others in the colony. Remus took copious mental notes as she spoke, knowing that anything he learned about his neighbors could only help him later.

He was ready to complete his mission. He needed to work harder than he ever had – he needed to do something to keep his mind off the heartbroken girl he had left behind.