A/N: I don't usually put a note before the entry, but I wanted to say that this goes with ch 31 of Moonlight and Shadow. Tonks is on bereavement leave, which she and Remus spend at the place where they first joined in body as well as heart.

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June 1996,

The Isle of Lewis is an island of contrasts. Grey hills and rocks tower over white sands. Bright flowers dot long, green grasses, creating the effect of a living Monet painting. Along the coast, peaceful stretches of sea contrast with the lively noise found within small, crowded pubs.

While lying beside my lover upon a blanket on shore or floating in the tranquil blue-green sea, the warmth of the sun and water lull me into a temporary forgetfulness. Cares seem to drift away.

In such moments, I slip into a daydream that has become so familiar; I can recount it with the ease of an oft-told story.

We are residents here, not merely holidaygoers. I imagine the war is over and Nymphadora's Auror experience has earned her a position with the local Magical Law Enforcement Office. The MacLeans, who encouraged us to make the island our home, also devised a scheme to gain my acceptance within the wizarding community.

When we first arrived, I kept to myself, and was often seen fishing during the day. At night, we left fish upon the windowsills of poor families. After Mr MacLean made a few leading comments at the pub, the villagers believed me to be a wulver, a non-aggressive werewolf, and trusted me to tutor their children.

Sometimes, in my most daring fantasies, I raise up on my elbows to watch my children.

Teddy's brown head lowers in concentration as he industriously digs a moat around a meticulously crafted sand castle. Thin and tanned, he reminds me of myself when I was six. I can remember how serious I was, determined to make my fortress impregnable to attack, although against what foe I cannot recall—perhaps an army of territorial sand crabs.

In the distance, I see Nymphadora walking with Siri, who at four is a "big girl" and proud to lug her own pail of water from the ocean. Mother and daughter both have shoulder-length black hair and pink bathing suits, because, in the words of my brown-eyed girl, "Mum and I are twins today."

My wife claps a hand over her mouth when our child tries to dump the water into the moat and splashes her brother instead. I fight back a smile as my normally even-tempered son grabs a handful of wet sand and throws it at his sister.

"Daddy!" Siri hollers, wiping sticky grains off her chest, balling her little hands into fists.

I rise to my feet, strolling over to pick up my scowling angel. "Let's go clean you off in the sea."

Mercurially shifting mood like her mother, Siri grins. "In the deep water?"

I look into eyes resembling my own. "After you apologise."

"I'm sorry, Teddy!"

Nymphadora pulls Teddy to his feet. "Last ones to the ocean are rotten fish!"

Two sets of dark blue eyes sparkle with mischief. Mother and son dash toward the surf.

Siri clutches my neck tightly as I begin to run. "Catch them, Daddy!"

I "catch them." My partner meets my eye and laughs.

The four of us reach the water at the same time.

After we bathe in the sea and relax upon the shore, it is time to go home. Mrs. MacLean beams when she answers Teddy's knock on the back door. As always, she coincidentally happens to have just conjured a batch of chocolate chip biscuits. My children rush into the kitchen in their eagerness to be official tasters.

Nymphadora and I enter, accepting a warm, soft biscuit with almost as much eagerness as Siri and Teddy. We could have Apparated with the children. Other parents do. It is perfectly safe with the correct precautions. I simply choose to Floo.

The MacLeans have called my decision "proper Fatherly concern." My wife calls it "adorable Anxious-Daddy Syndrome." I call it prudence. My children are energetic and Siri, especially, is prone to wriggle. If she dropped a sand toy and broke the parental hold upon Apparation, the consequences would be too terrible to contemplate.

I have lost too many special people in my life not to heed Mad-Eye's directive of constant vigilance.

Once we step onto the hearth of our whitewashed cottage, Siri and Nymphadora head to the upstairs bath while Teddy and I stow away the beach gear and wash our hands in the kitchen. He sets the table as I use a Heating Charm on the pot of soup stored in the coolant cabinet.

There is only one full bath in our home, so we take turns showering and doing our part to make dinner. When the girls come downstairs, they will make toasted cheese sandwiches and fill colourful mismatched glasses with pumpkin juice. Siri will run outside and pick wildflowers to put in a vase in the middle of the table, because she "likes to make things pretty."

After a meal filled with lively conversation and laughter over our race to the ocean, I clear the dishes while Nymphadora oversees the children washing their hands and faces and brushing their teeth. I climb the stairs with a feeling of anticipation.

When I walk through the door to the master bedroom, I see the three I love most in the world propped up on white pillows, Siri giggling over the pig snout her mother has morphed.

Teddy sees me and grins. "Read us a story, Daddy!"

I climb into bed and open the book my son places on my lap, unsurprised to see the picture of a girl in a red riding hood on the front cover. My children find it very amusing. So does my wife, whose lace nightgown is a splash of red against our white duvet. Secretly, I do too, although I growl to make Siri and Teddy laugh. With a glance to assure my love that I will gobble her up later, I open the book and begin to read.

At this moment in my daydream, the scene always becomes hazy. Although I am tempted to continue, my mind will only allow so much fantasy before steering my thoughts back to reality.

The war is not over. Nymphadora and I have duties and missions that ensure marriage and children will remain daydreams indefinitely. Thankfully, she is young, and is satisfied with being mates, joined in our hearts.

I hope that one day I will turn back to this entry and marvel how close it is to our lives, even if we live in the city and only visit the island on summer holiday. Putting aside my doubts and fears, I hope.

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Extra Special Thanks go to alix33, who said in a review about the Isle of Lewis, Is there wizzarding schools or university campuses or colleges, too? and an Auror office? Then, maybe Tonks and Remus could move there permanently and still do their jobs? The island is much too small for those, but the questions inspired this entry. See the power of reviews, people? Hint, hint, heh.

The people who inspired with their reviews of this fic last chapter were...♥ 40/16 ♥ alix33 ♥ bored2pieces2 ♥ Calenmarwen ♥ ElspethBates ♥ FNP ♥ Freja Lercke-Falkenborg ♥ GraceRichie ♥ ishandtwofourths ♥ Kates Master ♥ ladyofthebookworms ♥ LolaCherryColaGirl ♥ MollyCoddles ♥ Moontime ♥ Nethiel Nessime ♥ Operamuse ♥ potteronpotluvhim ♥ RahNee ♥ remus r us ♥ siriuslycoco ♥ Slipknot-3113 ♥ Sophia Loren ♥ sunny9847 ♥ UnderworldBabe ♥ and ♥ worldsapart ♥