A/N: We're almost to the end! Although this chapter has a definite ring of finality to it, there's one more to come. I'll save my emotional thanks for that chapter, and leave you with a huge thank you for reading and reviewing this one. I hope you enjoy it – I know I had fun writing it!

I don't own the Potter universe.

The Calm and the Storm

"You know, I'm not sure I like this new job of yours."

Olivia frowned slightly. "Why not?"

Dana gave her a teasing smile. "I hardly ever get to see you anymore."

"Believe me, I wish it could be different," Olivia sighed. "The problem is that I'm doing two jobs. I'm working with John on running the department, but I'm also still doing fieldwork. Sometimes, I just wish he would decide where he wants me and leave it at that."

"I thought he knew that he wanted you to work with him."

"Yes, that's true," Olivia said, "but he also wants me to be happy. Since he knows how much I love working in the field, he's reluctant to take that away from me."

"Liv, if you just want to do one or the other, tell him. I'm sure he'll let you do whatever you want. You're his sister!"

"Yeah, I know," she sighed again. "But, the problem is, I'm not sure what I want to do. I know that I don't want to be taken out of the field completely, but I also know that I'm having a good time with the administrative part, too."

"I still can't believe you're so enamored with the paperwork."

"I know," Olivia smiled. "It was a bit overwhelming at first, but now that things are falling into place, I'm liking it more and more."

"Things are better, then?"

"Oh, so much," Olivia said excitedly. "I think we're really getting this department back on track. Moody would be proud."

"Moody always was proud of you. You know that he thought that you … and Sirius … were the best of his new recruits."

Olivia smiled a bittersweet smile. "We worked so hard for him."

"Well, it paid off."

"For me, at least," she said quietly.

Dana shook her head. "For Sirius, too. Think of how much joy he got out of defying his family."

Olivia giggled in spite of herself. "He did love that part, didn't he?"

"And, he was able to help defend Harry."

"That mattered more to him than anything," Olivia said quietly. "He loved Harry so much."

"We all do," Dana sighed. "I just wish we could spend time with him. Lily would have wanted him to know us."

Olivia shook her head. "Lily would have wanted him to be safe. I truly believe that it's easier for us to keep him safe if we keep our distance. Let Remus be the one he knows and can confide in. For now, we can stay on the sidelines."

Dana shook her head. "It's just hard."

"I know," Olivia sighed. She knew that she had to change the direction of the conversation before both of them were completely depressed. "How's Laura?" she asked suddenly.

Dana looked confused at the sudden change of topic. "She's fine. Stressed over exams, but that's to be expected."

"It is that time of year, isn't it? She'll be home soon, then."

Dana's face lit up with a smile. "When she comes home, we'll have our family reunion."

"Family reunion?" Olivia repeated.

"Yes. My mother's coming in from France when Laura comes home from school. Laura's actually going to her house first, then they're coming here together."

"That's great!" Olivia grinned. "I haven't seen them in ages."

"Neither have I," Dana agreed.

"When will all this be?"

"Two weeks," Dana replied. "I can't wait."

"I can't believe we only have two more weeks together before summer," Laura said mournfully.

Mathieu took her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against the back of it. "We'll have to visit each other. You will come to see me, won't you?"

"Of course. And you'll have to come to see me. I want you to meet my mum and my godparents."

"I'd love to."

"They'll just love you, I know it." Laura smiled and relaxed back against him as they lay together on the school lawn, staring up at the stars.

Mathieu smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Laura," he said softly.

She turned so that she could see him, trying to look into his eyes in the darkness. "What?" she whispered.

"I love you," he repeated.

A beaming smile broke out across her face. "I love you, too."

He looked at her for a moment, then kissed her. He pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss. He pressed her back onto the grass and situated himself on top of her.

Laura had snogged boys before. She had ever snogged Mathieu before. But she knew that she had never been kissed before the same way that he was kissing her – and she had never kissed anyone the way she was kissing him.

Love made all the difference in the world.

Remus dressed in his best robes, taking the time to carefully arrange his hair. He knew that he was being ridiculous, going to such extremes for a colony event, but he couldn't stop himself. He hardly ever had the chance to dress up anymore, and Maureen's birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Finally satisfied that he looked good enough for the party she was throwing, he turned to pick up the gift that he had already wrapped. He hoped that she would like the book he had chosen.

Glancing at his watch, he knew that he needed to either leave or be late. With her gift in hand, Remus headed out into the cool night.

Tonks ran around her flat, trying to make sure that everything was neat and clean. She ran her hand through her limp hair, pushing it back from her face. She knew that Aurors on her team well enough at this point that it seemed ridiculous to go to such extremes for a routine meeting, but she couldn't stop herself. Her mother had taught her to clean her house for visitors, and that was what she intended to do.

Finally satisfied that she had at least cleaned it to the point of not embarrassing herself, she hurried to the bathroom to take a quick shower before the team arrived. She wanted to appear as the calm and collected leader, rather than the stressed and overwhelmed one.

She truly was beginning to feel calm and collected again. She had finally adjusted to running her mission without Olivia, and felt that Hogwarts was becoming safer and safer. Things were under control at long last.

Sighing as the water hit her face, she reminded herself to hurry. She didn't have much time before the meeting would start.

"Remus! You came!"

Remus grinned and leaned down to kiss Maureen's cheek. "Would I miss your special day? Never."

She giggled. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Happy birthday," he replied, offering her the gift he had brought. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will," she smiled, leading him inside. "Come on, everyone's out back."

"Who's here?" Remus asked nervously.

"Everyone who's anyone," she laughed.

"Everyone?" Remus repeated, his eyebrows shooting up.

"I'm kidding. There are about a dozen people here."

Remus nodded.

Maureen looked at him closely. "It's going to be fine, Remus. You're my friend, and this is my party. They'll be civil, if nothing else."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am," she said confidently. "Come on. I'll introduce you around."

They stepped out into the backyard, where Maureen's birthday party was in full swing. Remus looked around at the other werewolves, watching silently for a moment as they talked and laughed together. He was struck for the first time by how normal the whole scene was. Somehow, this gathering of friends seemed like something he had done before with his own friends – it was really no different than the dinners he had been to with the Weasleys.

In that moment, Remus had a revelation. He realized what he had been doing wrong. He had spent all this time thinking of the differences that existed between him and the other werewolves. He had never stopped to consider the similarities. He had seen people who chose to live apart from society, not people who had created their own society. He had seen people who craved only violence, not people who sought friendship with others like themselves.

Really, their relationships were no different than his friendship with James, Sirius, Peter and the girls. They had bonded at Hogwarts because they were all Gryffindors. These people around him had bonded because they were all werewolves.

They had thought less of him from the first day because he had chosen to live among humans. Now, he realized that he had thought less of them because they chose to live in Greyback's colony.

A shock wave ran through him at the thought. He had done to them exactly what he had resented them for doing to him. He jerked Maureen's hand, and she looked up to see his pale face and wide eyes.

"Remus? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said slowly, looking down at her. He smiled slightly. "Will you introduce me to your friends?"

"Yes, of course."

Tonks was ready before her team arrived. She even had time to take out some butterbeer and snacks. She had learned long ago that the best meetings featured food and drink.

The team arrived punctually, as always. Tonks welcomed them in and passed the drinks and snacks around. Everyone chatted amicably for a moment before Tonks took her seat in the circle around her living room.

"Well, I'd like to start by congratulating everyone on a job well done," she said. "Based on everything I've seen, I'd say this school is as safe as it's ever been."

"I agree," Dawlish said at once. "We've all done a great job, and, Tonks, you really deserve a lot of the credit. I know we all were nervous about doing this once Alexander was gone and there was no replacement, but you've pulled us all together really well. So, job well done to you, too."

"Thank you," Tonks smiled, flushing slightly. Dawlish had never been one of her favorite people, if for no other reason than because Kingsley didn't like him, but she couldn't deny that he was an excellent Auror. His approval meant a lot to her.

"You know, I'd rather like to see the kids allowed back into Hogsmeade," Proudfoot commented.

Several eyebrows were raised, but Tonks looked thoughtful. "You know, that might just be a good idea," she said.

"I don't know," Savage said slowly. "We've only now got the school under control. Do we really want to risk bringing the kids into the village?"

"We could request a few extra Aurors, just for the day," Tonks said. She sighed. "They're so close to the end of the year, and you know as well as I do that they could probably use a break."

"We can control it," Proudfoot said. "Perhaps limit it to only those students who are granted permission from their Head of House."

"That's a good idea," Savage said, realizing that the others were not about to give up on this idea. "That way we could control the size of the group a bit more."

Tonks nodded. "What do you think, Dawlish?"

"I think we need to talk to Dumbledore before we decide anything."

"You're right," Tonks said. "I'll request a meeting with him. Hopefully, we can have this resolved within the next few days."

An owl swooped through her open window. Immediately recognizing the Hogwarts owl, Tonks frowned as she got up to retrieve the message it carried. She read it over, then looked up at her Aurors.

"Looks like the man can read minds," she said. "I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this short. Dumbledore wants to see me immediately."

Within twenty minutes of arriving at Maureen's party, Remus had been introduced to everyone there. The werewolves were very distrusting, but several were willing to talk to him for Maureen's sake. Remus was glad for those three people – Boris, Marie and Sonia. Without them, he would have been standing by himself, looking every bit the outcast he was.

As it was, the three people with him talked more to one another than to him. Even so, the fact that they were willing to include him at all was more than he had hoped possible. He tried to keep to himself, adding comments from time to time and answering questions when they were asked of him. Maureen made her way around to talk to everyone, finally finding her way back to Remus. She grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the others.

"Excuse me," he said politely before following her.

"Are you having fun?" she asked as soon as they were alone.

"I am," he smiled. "Your friends are nice."

Her face lit up with a smile. "I knew you'd think so. You just had to give them a chance."

"You know, I didn't realize that until tonight," Remus said. "I was so busy worrying about them not giving me a chance that I didn't see that it's a two-way street."

Maureen smiled. "I knew everything would work out in the end."

"You know, my friend Olivia is always telling me that I need to get over myself. I guess she's right."

"She sounds like she's a smart woman."

"She is," Remus smiled.

Their conversation was cut short when and owl landed on the table in front of them. Remus looked at the Hogwarts crest on the letter it carried and frowned. Thankful that he was away from the rest of the group, he moved to shield the owl from prying eyes as he took the letter.

"Not bad news, I hope," Maureen said.

Remus shook his head. "I hope not," he muttered. "As of now, it's only bad new for the two of us. I need to leave."

"Where are you going?"

"Dumbledore needs to see me," he said quietly. "He says to come immediately."

Maureen's face fell. "Oh."

Remus hugged her. "I hate to do this to you on your birthday."

She shook her head. "Go," she said. "I know how important Dumbledore is. If he wants to see you immediately, it must be something that can't wait."

"Yes," Remus agreed, "I'm sure it is."

When Remus arrived in Dumbledore's office, a small crowd had already gathered. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Snape were there, and had been joined by Tonks and Bill. Remus greeted all of them, then took the seat that Dumbledore offered.

"Now that we're all here, I believe we can get started," the Headmaster said.

McGonagall frowned slightly as she looked around at the odd assortment of people in the office. Heads of House, Order members … it was all a bit strange to her.

Dumbledore smiled at the confusion evident in his guests' faces. "I'm going to be gone for a few hours this evening."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "That's not particularly unusual, Dumbledore," she said. "You've left the school before. We've never needed a meeting for you to announce it."

"This is different," he said. "I have … intelligence … that suggests that things may be a bit … I'd like you all to patrol the corridors tonight in my absence."

"Patrol?" Bill repeated.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, sweeping his gaze around the room to include them all. "I will only be gone a few hours, but security is of the utmost importance. That's why I've called in Remus, Nymphadora and Bill. I want them to assist the Heads in their hall patrols."

"That's all we need to know?" McGonagall asked.

"For now," Dumbledore nodded. He paused. "Oh, yes, there is something else. I will be taking Harry Potter with me tonight."

"What?" McGonagall and Remus exclaimed as one, both ready to jump out of their chairs.

"Harry will be accompanying me on my journey tonight," Dumbledore repeated. "And that, Minerva, is all you need to know."

McGonagall shook her head wordlessly. Years of working closely with Dumbledore had taught her how futile it was to try to make him talk, but this was one time when she desperately wanted to shake answers out of him.

"I hope that I won't be gone long," Dumbledore said. "I will see all of you soon."

They all murmured their good byes, then took their leave from the office. McGonagall looked around at them once they were back in the corridor.

"Lupin, Tonks, Flitwick and I will take the first watch," she said. "Snape, Sprout and Weasley, you will relieve us in two hours."

They all nodded to one another, and went their separate ways. They had no way of knowing that they were beginning one of the worst nights of any of their lives.

"So, what were you doing when you got Dumbledore's message?" Tonks asked as she and Remus walked through the empty corridors together.

"I was at a birthday party," Remus replied.

Tonks gave him a look of surprise and Remus laughed.

"I know," he said. "It doesn't seem likely, does it? But, you know, I realized something tonight. Those werewolves – they're not all that different from me."

"How can you say that?" Tonks exclaimed. "They're nothing like you!"

"That's what I thought, too," Remus said. "And I think that's why I've had so much trouble getting through to them. I have to see them for what they are – people who've been afflicted with a terrible curse – not for what they're not."

Tonks shook her head. "I don't know, Remus. I think that you're a better person than me, if you can believe that."

"I'm not," he said quietly. "I've just lived through more than you, that's all."

Whatever reply Tonks would have given was cut off by the sound of running feet and jumbled voices. They looked at each other for a moment, then took off at a run, following the voices. They turned a corner and nearly ran straight into Ron, Ginny and Neville.

"Whoa!" Remus exclaimed, reaching out to grab Ginny's shoulders, effectively halting her forward progress. "What's going on?"

"Malfoy –"

"Death Eaters –"

"Peruvian Instant Darkness –"

"Couldn't see –"

"So many people –"

"Afraid of hurting each other –"

"Stop!" Remus yelled. "You're not making any sense! We can help, but you need to slow down and tell us what happened."

Ron recovered first. "We just ran into Malfoy outside the Room of Requirement."

"Room of Requirement?" Tonks questioned.

"I'll explain later," Remus said. He turned back to Ron. "And?"

"He was carrying the Hand of Glory," Neville said. "It only gives light –"

"To the one who holds it," Tonks finished.

"Right," Ginny said. "He saw us and threw some of Fred and George's Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder into the air."

"It went pitch black," Ron said. "We couldn't see a thing, but we could hear people running past us …"

"So many people," Neville said with a bit of a shudder.

"We're sure they're Death Eaters."

"Where did they go?" Tonks asked tensely.

The three teenagers looked at each other and shrugged.

"We think they were running that way," Ron said, pointing to a corridor to their left. "We were going to find someone to help us find them."

"All right," Tonks said, her Auror mask already slipping into place. "Let's go find them."

They hurried down the corridor, trying to find the Death Eaters. They had only gone a little way when Flitwick came bounding toward them.

"Oh, good, you're here!" he exclaimed. "Go, they're all on their way to the Astronomy Tower – Bill and Minerva are already there – I'm going to find Severus –"

"We should find Hermione and Luna," Ron said.

"No," Remus said at once. "You stay with us."

All the nerves he had felt about Harry going with Dumbledore were gone. He was sure that whatever he was doing couldn't possibly be as dangerous as the situation they were about to walk into.

They continued on, moving even faster, until they burst upon the battle scene. It was a comically unfair fight, with only McGonagall and Bill fighting against so many Death Eaters. Without stopping to think, Remus and Tonks jumped into the battle. They barely realized that Ron, Ginny and Neville were fighting, too.

Remus ran forward, Stunning a Death Eater who was about to curse McGonagall from behind. Involved in an intense duel, she barely even noticed what had happened. Remus turned to see where else he could help and saw a jet of green light rushing toward him.

For a moment, all he could think of was James and Lily, and the fact that this had been the last thing they had seen. He thought of their last moments, and the fact that they had died for their son – just as he was about to do.

Then, a body flew in out of nowhere. Remus barely registered that it was Giddeon, a Death Eater, before the curse hit him. Giddeon fell to the ground in front of Remus. He had taken the curse meant for Remus.

Remus barely had time to catch his breath before seeing a Death Eater advance on Tonks. She was already fighting another and hadn't yet realized what was happening.

"Tonks, to your right!" he yelled, running forward.

Tonks turned, but could not curse him before he sent a curse flying at her. Remus ran faster than he ever had in his life, throwing himself at Tonks. They rolled down to the floor together, both out of harm's way. They stopped on the floor, Remus firmly on top of Tonks.

"Remus," she murmured.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes … thank you …"

Remus looked at her, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. But, it was not meant to be. He rolled off her, and they both stood up again, both ready to rejoin the battle.

Somehow, in all the mayhem, Malfoy had vanished. Neville, who had been watching for him, ran for the stairs to the Astronomy Tower. As he charged toward the bottom step, he was thrown back with a force that lifted him off his feet and shot him across the room in a graceful arch.

Remus ran to help the boy who lay motionless. He looked him over quickly, unable to see any outward injuries. "Neville? Can you hear me?"

Neville groaned. "It hurts," he wheezed.

"I know," Remus said. "I'll get you to Madam Pomfrey as soon as I can, I promise –"

His words were cut off by a fierce, snarling shriek. Remus froze. He knew that sound all too well. He slowly lifted his head to see Greyback standing in the middle of the battle.

Greyback surveyed the scene with savage eyes. Knowing that it was only a matter of time, Remus stood to his feet. Greyback's eyes swept over him, locking with his own.

In that moment, Remus knew that it was done. He would not be allowed back in the colony, he would not be allowed to communicate with the other werewolves. He would be lucky to be allowed to live.

Greyback tore his eyes from Remus and locked them on Bill. Remus saw what was going to happen a moment before it did.

"No!"

But it was too late. There was nothing that he could do to help Bill. The curses that he threw at Greyback were repelled through a magic that he did not know.

Ginny's shriek when she saw her brother's mangled body would reverberate in his ears for the rest of his life.

Snape finally appeared on the scene. No one reacted to his entrance, although Remus was sure that the others were as relieved as he was to have more help. Remus watched as Snape ran up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower – the same stairs Giddeon had run down, the same stairs Neville had not been able to go up.

From that moment, the pace of the battle seemed to slacken. Only a few minutes passed before Snape came running back down the stairs. He shouted something, and the Death Eaters left.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Come on," Remus said. He grabbed Tonks's hand, pulling her out of the hospital wing.

"Where are we going?" she asked tearfully.

"Somewhere where we can talk."

She walked beside him silently, wondering if she had gone too far. She knew that announcing her feelings – and, essentially, forcing him to admit his own – in front of the crowd around Bill's hospital bed probably had been a bad idea. Even so, it had shown him how many people believed that they should be together …

Remus stopped at the dead end of a corridor. Tonks looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I promised to show you the Room of Requirement," he said. "Stay here."

Tonks watched was Remus paced back and forth in front of the wall, wondering if perhaps he had lost his mind. Her eyes widened as a door appeared. He opened it, then held out his hand for her.

"After you."

Tonks entered the room and looked around in surprise. It looked just like her living room.

"What is this?" she whispered.

"It becomes what you need it to be," Remus said. "We needed a place to talk."

"But this is my house."

He nodded. "Would you rather talk in mine?"

"No, I … I just want to talk."

Remus nodded, encouraging her to continue.

Tonks sighed. "Remus … you know how I feel. I've gone against everything my mother ever taught me with you, and I've worn my heart on my sleeve. I want to be with you, and I think that, under all your protests, you want the same thing." She paused. "I saw the way you saved McGonagall from a Death Eater and I saw the way you saved me. There was a major difference there, and I hope you won't deny what that meant."

Remus shook his head. "I'll be honest. I love you, Tonks. I have for a long time. It's just … I'm afraid of what would happen … I think you deserve more …"

"And what if I said the same thing? That you deserve better than me?"

He looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "There's no one better than you."

"That's exactly how I feel," she whispered. "Stop trying to act like you know what's best for me, and start thinking about what you know is best for us."

"Best for us," Remus repeated slowly.

Tonks held her breath, wondering again if she had pushed too far.

"It won't be easy, life with me," Remus cautioned.

Hope jumped into Tonks's heart at his words. "I don't care," she said. "I'll stick with you through it all."

Remus stood stock-still. "What did you say?"

"I said that I'll stick with you," Tonks said with a bit of a frown. "Thick and thin."

Remus shook his head, feeling a thousand emotions. He knew that he had never used that phrase around her before, and he doubted that Sirius had. It was that one phrase, that one echo of his past that sealed his future.

"I'm still not sure this is the best time to start a relationship," was his final moment of hesitation. "We're in the middle of a war …"

"What is the best time?" Tonks asked. "The perfect conditions don't exist."

"James and Lily did it," Remus said, almost to himself. He turned to look at her fully. "I'm not saying they had the best ending. They died for each other and for Harry after such a short time together. But, I'm sure that if they had the opportunity, they would do it all again. I'm sure it was worth it to have those few short years."

"Are you saying …?"

He nodded, and her eyes filled with tears. They moved toward each other and fell into one another's arms, laughing, kissing and crying. As he looked into her eyes, Remus felt his heart lift. Finally, finally, he was seeing her cry tears of happiness.

"I love you," he whispered.

She laughed through her tears. "I love you, too."