Author's note: Wow. I have no excuse for my lateness in putting this out besides the usual excuse: my life is just one maddening, chaotic cesspool. I'm so sorry.

This chapter was hard. I've read the same damn chapters in half blood prince about a million times, but some things still don't make sense to me. Like where certain characters were at certain times and such. Ex: How many Death Eaters were there total? Where was everyone as Harry ran away after Snape? And the number one question of the series- Fenrir has the full body bind put on him, how the hell does he get out of it and leave the building?!?!? Also it seems to me that this chapter has the most stolen lines from a Harry Potter book, but I felt it was necessary to the storyline and besides, trying to rewrite Rowling's beautiful work is an impossible task. It was far too perfect the way it was…

…of course, she COULD have written a ton more on Remus and Tonks's parts so that I wouldn't feel the need to have to write this story but whatever. Can't have everything I suppose.

Chapter Twenty five- A Little More Love

If Albus Dumbledore had wanted to put Remus in the most awkward position imaginable he couldn't have done it more properly.

Remus had been summoned to patrol the school corridors with Bill Weasley and none other than Nymphadora Tonks. From the sounds of it, McGonagall was going to join them as well.

Dumbledore had been quite vague about where he was planning on going, simply saying that he'd be off for a short time and he would be back hopefully by the morning at the very latest. So the Order had in shorts, been assigned to Argus Filch's duty of patrolling the school.

It wasn't so much the assignment he had concerns with; it was who he was with.

Since that fateful day several weeks ago, Remus had effectively avoided Nympahdora Tonks like dragon pox. The day after the disastrous incident held over the pizza, Remus had left early the next morning and had finally received his wand from a silent and cold Tonks. She had not protested his departure- in fact, she hadn't spoken to him at all and since that morning when they said their short and chilly goodbyes- neither of them had spoken to the other one since.

Remus had been unable to return to his mission as a spy among Fenrir's pack. When he had met with Dumbledore he thought his former headmaster would be disappointed in him but he was not, he seemed to understand the situation perfectly. They were both dismayed over the death of Davey Montgomery however. Since that private meeting, Dumbledore had given Remus several different missions in the Order that he took up with zealous relish. By burying himself in work, Remus had been desperately trying to avoid the woman that was constantly on his mind during the daytime and more so in his dreams….Yet Tonks seemed determined to ignore him, and when their eyes did momentarily catch each others at various Order meetings, it was an almost angry glare that appeared etched on her pale face.

And there he was standing beside her, the closest to her that he had been in weeks as Dumbledore was saying goodbye to them all.

"-what do you mean, be on the lookout for anything 'unusual'?" Bill asked Dumbledore.

"Oh, the common sort of unusual." Dumbledore said with a small smile. "Just keep your guard as you patrol the corridors. If I return-"

"If?" Remus asked sharply.

Dumbledore turned to him and fixed him with a knowing stare. "Perhaps I ought to have said, 'When I return,' Remus? But these are dark times, and dark times call for dangerous risks."

Despite saying something so ominous, the old wizard looked almost cheerful.

"Headmaster," Remus said. "It's not my place to ask, but will you be alright where you are going? Do you need extra assistance? Perhaps one of us could act as an additional guard-"

"A comforting notion, but an unavailable one nonetheless. No, I shall be able to defend myself adequately enough where I am going."

Remus stared shrewdly at Dumbledore who turned back to Bill and Tonks. "I spoke to Minerva not very long ago so I expect that she will be here soon, perhaps you two can discuss which particular places to start patrol and Remus if you would be so kind as to have a small chat with me for a moment before I go..."

Recognizing that Dumbledore wanted a private word, Remus walked alongside his old headmaster as they slowly started to head down the corridor together.

Dumbledore spoke first. "Do you remember what I told you and Kingsley last week before you went off on your mission together?"

Remus nodded. "You told us to 'Trust Harry. He is our best hope.'"

Dumbledore smiled. "Remember that."

"Of course I will."

There was a pause between them, Remus thinking quickly….

"You're taking Harry with you tonight, aren't you?" he asked shrewdly.

Dumbledore bowed his head but said nothing. His silence was his affirmation of Remus's guess.

Remus let out his breath slowly. If there was anybody he would trust to take care of the boy it would none other than the elderly headmaster himself. "Good luck Headmaster."

Dumbledore's light blue eyes fell on him, piercing him- "You have grown up to be a brave man Remus."

"I'm glad that I was given the chance."

A look of understanding seemed to pass between them. Remus put out his hand and Dumbledore took it to shake a solemn goodbye. "One more thing Remus."

"Yes?"

Dumbledore was already moving down the dark corridor that lead to the entrance hall. His tone was calm and not at all reproachful but his words still shocked Remus- "Don't leave her again."

He blinked. "Headmaster?"

But Dumbledore had already turned the corner and was gone.

He stood there, rooted to the spot feeling stunned when suddenly there came a shout behind him-

"Lupin!"

He turned to see Bill and Tonks standing there, obviously in mid conversation that Bill had just broke off.

"How would you feel about patrolling with Tonks on the east side of the castle?"
"I already said I'd patrol alone or with McGongall!" Tonks said furiously.

Remus was about to say he'd prefer if Tonks had her own way when he suddenly remembered Dumbledore's last words. "I think it's safer actually if we were to divide ourselves up equally."

A dangerous look came over Tonks's face. "Equally?" she spat, still facing Bill but it was obvious who she was really addressing. "And what does that imply, exactly?"

"I didn't mean that any of us are better than the others-" Remus said quickly, also facing Bill instead of whom he was talking too. "But perhaps if were to split up equally by gender-"

"And what does THAT mean?" Tonks said angrily as Bill took a nervous step backwards. "Is the spirit of the sexist Mad-Eye here or something? Will me and McGonagall's feminine scruples cause us to botch up the job? Or are we not capable of handling the possibility of a stray male adolescent wandering the halls on our own?"

"That's not what I meant." Remus said. "In light of the situation it would be better that we went in pairs and…"

He glanced over and trailed off at the sight of Tonks's face, her eyebrows growing more narrowed by the second.

"He has a point." Bill said, still looking slightly apprehensive. "Not that I'm thrilled about patrolling with McGongall but it makes sense."

Tonks crossed her arms and said nothing. Remus ran a hand through his graying hair wishing he was far, far away from this awkward situation.

Bill raised an eyebrow as he looked at them both. "Are you two alright?"

"Fine." They snapped in unison.

Bill frowned. "It's just that you both seem a little…"

He trailed off as they both gave him a dangerous, warning look. "Right." He said with obviously as much cheerful force as he could muster. "You two will take the east side of the castle for now and me and old McGongall will take the other side. We can check in on each other every hour."

Tonks nodded at this and then turned and began to walk down the hallway without waiting for Remus. Shaking his head at Bill's silent inquiry, Remus ran after her to catch up.

As he fell into step beside her he could have sworn that under her breath she muttered, 'L'awkward."

They walked along in silence, Remus thinking for a moment about some of the darker thoughts that had been weighing heavily on his mind for quite a bit. Hearing the story from Tonks of how she had been stalked by Randolph Horrell and nearly bitten by Fenrir himself had put her in a horribly risky position. He didn't need Dumbledore's words of advice to help him out on that. The knowledge that Tonks had been in danger while he had ran with the pack had made him feel ashamed of himself and terrified for her future safety.

As he walked beside her he made a vow to himself. He couldn't allow himself to engage in the idea of what happiness with her might consist of and he couldn't entertain the emotions of anything deeper than platonic friendship. He hated to do it, but he knew that was what had to be. He would watch over Tonks and protect her…he wanted to badly- just as long as he remained hidden in the shadows behind her for the rest of his life. He belonged to the shadows, and the nymph at his side belonged to the light…that was all there was to it.

Tonks was seriously considering murder at that point. Remus Lupin was the biggest bastard ever. He was maddening. That day at her flat he was so close…soooooo close to actually saying the words that she had been dying to hear from his lips for months, but no. He had pulled another brilliant act of supreme cowardice, or nobility or whatever the hell it was called. Not that she cared anymore…

Walking beside him she tried to watch him from the corner of her eye and could only see the side of his neck- she was torn between wringing it or planting furious kisses on it, it was a tough call to make-

She had been staring a bit too long- she tripped over a rug and stumbled.

Remus, as always, caught her just in time. "Steady…" he said gently.

For a moment, her biting reply was stuck in her throat. The touch from his gentle hands on her had caught her more off guard then the near fall had. Being this close to him- him just touching her…she seemed to have lost half of her brain cells-

"I used to fall down this hallway a lot when I was younger." She said lamely, anger momentarily forgotten.

He smiled faintly as she stood up straight again. "I hope someone was there to catch you or that would have lead to some very nasty bruises."

"Well you had long since graduated Hogwarts before I came along so-"

She realized that the lines on Remus's face had just gotten a whole lot darker.

Bollocks. I mention the age gap between us off hand and he gets all sensitive about it again…

The very long stretch of time that soon followed was filled with utter silence making things both dull and awkward…it seemed like hours passed by, as they covered the school including many of the secret passageways. Tonks thought she knew most of them (having been a rather adventurous and rebellious student in her youth) but Remus stopped several unexpected times to add more protective spells to ones she had never known of before. She wanted to ask him where half of them led to or how he had discovered them, but since she was angry at him she decided not to oblige.

Tonks sighed heavily. It wasn't as if Voldemort was just going to come flying into the castle when Dumbledore was away- Dumbledore had been away most of the year and nothing of particular importance had happened. Besides, the school had naturally powerful enchantments on every entrance of the castle. It was nearly impossible for someone to try and break in.

She tried to direct her attention by focusing and thinking on the task she was doing. 'Constant vigilance' as Moody had told her many a time, but she could only inwardly wallow and seethe at the miserable situation she was standing in.

Perhaps she should've given up hope long ago. Perhaps it really had been just a waste of time on her part. She had felt differently about Remus and had waited for him longer than any other man in her entire miserable love life but maybe it had all been for naught. Maybe she was an idiot to have waited this long. Standing behind him as he added another charm to a secret corridor, and feeling more miserable then ever she made a face at his turned back.

"Tonks you really shouldn't make faces like that when people's backs are turned." He said without turning around to face her.

She stared at his back, utterly shocked. "How did you know that I made a face at you?"

"Because I can see your reflection in the suit of armor in front of me." He said calmly and she could make out just the slightest hint of amusement hidden under that casual, hoarse voice.

She stood there, her mouth open in indignant rage. Damn him.

He turned around slowly, his face arranged into the most neutral of expressions. "Is something wrong?" he asked politely.

"No, what could possibly be wrong?" Tonks snarled.

"Alright then."

Her mouth dropped as she watched him turn away from her virtually ignore her as he headed down the corridor. She raced up to his side-"You're just going to leave it at that? When you KNOW something is wrong?"

"You said that there wasn't."

"I'd have thought my tone of voice made it pretty obvious that there was,Professor!"

He opened his mouth but suddenly a voice at the end of the hallway cut them off.

"Professor Lupin!"

"Tonks!"

They turned to see two red headed children and another familiar boy sprinting up to them looking frantic.

"Ginny?!?!"

Ron opened his mouth to speak but Ginny cut him off-

"Thank god we found you! It's Malfoy- he's brought Death Eaters right into the school!"

Tonks felt a wave of horror and a surge of heart racing adrenaline as she heard Ginny's words. She couldn't help it. She had expected guard duty, but this? It had to be the most unexpected, worst case scenario yet.

"How?" Remus asked sharply. "How did they get in?"

"The room of requirement." Neville said. "Where we used to have the DA meetings last year."

"Lead us to them." Tonks said, stepping forward. The three children took off, Tonks right behind them. It took her a moment to realize that Remus wasn't beside her. She turned and saw him, sending off a patronus down the corridor for McGongall and Bill.

"Oh, good thinking." She conceded. "Those of us who are unfortunate enough to possess the Black blood are a bit too reckless sometimes."

"And us Weasley's are incapable of understanding the true meaning of personal danger." Ginny said from at her side.

Tonks gave her a quick smile as they ran down the deserted hallway, the children hastily explaining the situation as they ran to the scene.

" We were guarding the room of requirement-'''

"-and Malfoy had his hand of glory we think, and-"

"-he threw something into the air and it was all black-"

"we tried to find a way out, we could hear people running past us and we tried to follow them but then we ran into you-"

Tonks forced away a very gruesome image of what would have happened if the three school children had encountered the Death Eaters without running into her and Remus first.

It seemed to take no time at all

"There they are!" Ginny exclaimed.

Sure enough ahead of them in the dimly lit corridor were the Death Eaters heading quickly toward the Astronomy tower's staircase. Tonks sent a stunning spell at them even before Ginny's words and the Death Eaters rounded on them as the spell narrowly missed one of their fellow's heads.

As she immediately engaged in a duel with one of the many now scattered and off-guard Death Eaters she glimpsed a Death Eater named Gibbon break away and race up the tower stairs- the Malfoy boy (her cousin, she reminded herself in a small back part of her mind- ) was nowhere to be seen…

She heard a shout from another one of the Death Eaters and in the briefest of glances saw Bill and Professor McGongall rushing onto the scene. Though the numbers were slightly more even now- most of the fighters against the Death Eaters were underage wizards. Tonks felt a stab of horror as she thought of the earlier mental image that had come to mind and propelled by this terrifying thought she sent a flurry of jinxes at her Death Eater.

Where on earth is Malfoy? She wondered as she momentarily helped out Ginny by sending over a hex at her opponent.

Across the room she glimpsed Remus dueling with another Death Eater and saw him duck not a moment too soon from a killing curse that had been aimed at him. It skimmed just over the top of his head and hit Gibbon who had just reappeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Tonks let out her breath she hadn't realized she was holding in a loud whoosh. One down. she thought dryly as she sent over another stunning spell at the Death Eater who had tried to catch her off guard. Their spells collided in midair and Tonks took a step backwards, only to stumble over the back of her own robes forcing her into a sort of spin. The distraction would be costly and as she raised her head half expecting to see an oncoming spell she was surprised to see that Bill had jumped between her and the Death Eater and had sent a jinx at her opponent.

"You owe me one Tonks!" he shouted over the roar of the battle.

"I was practicing my dancing!" she retorted.

He flashed her a grin and jumped to the side as a short death eater by the name of Alecto charged at him.

Tonks a few moments later had just managed to temporarily bring down the Death Eater she had been dueling with when she suddenly she saw him. A large man wearing Death Eater robes that looked too tight and bore a face she had seen on many wanted posters for some time; had just lunged at Bill who had not expected the unexpected attack from the side. Against Fenrir Greyback's legendary strength and speed Bill hadn't the chance or time to defend himself from an attack that didn't include wands or magic…

"BILL!" she screamed. Over the bursting of spells and the shouts she doubted her voice was even heard over it all but she sprinted forward across the crowded room while sending a curse right at Fenrir. He had twisted out of the way just in time and she watched in horror as Bill fell to the floor, his hands covering his face- Tonks could see blood welling between his fingers-

As the spell went by him, Fenrir noticed and he turned sharply on her, his mouth twisted into a terrible smile. Blood was dripping from his sharpened teeth and dribbling all over his chin. He ran a tongue over his lips as if he was savoring the taste- and then suddenly he lunged at her.

Tonks threw up a shield charm not a moment too soon. As she did so however, a stray Death Eater's jinx caused a large cracked part of the ceiling to fall beside her, causing her to momentarily stumble forward-

Fenrir was inches from her now and she didn't have time to raise her wand.

Instead she brought her elbow back hard and swung- the point of it smashing into the side of Fenrir's face.

It hurt her terribly, sending a jolt of pain to go shooting up her arm but it seemed to have momentarily stunned Fenrir for the a few seconds.

Tonks stared at the werewolf before her in revulsion,

"You sick fuck."

She brought her wand slashing through the air and Fenrir let out a snarl of pain as he stumbled backwards- finally realizing that her wrath was not something so easily dismissed.

"That one was for Bill!" she spat before bringing her wand across again, sending another crippling blow to the stumbling werewolf who let out a howl of rage as he was cornered against the wall now.

"That was for Davey Montgomery!"

She ducked a curse that had come out of nowhere and with all her anger and willpower sent her wand slicing through the air in a way that would have made her aunt proud- the werewolf who had started to try and run from her was blasted backwards toward the stairs, crumpling to the floor.

"And THAT was for Remus Lupin you vile piece of scum!"

She sent a stunning spell at him but suddenly someone smashed into her, sending her to the floor in a crumpled heap. She looked up frantically and saw Fenrir leap unsteadily to his feet before racing up the tower stairs.

Damn!

She ran forward but nearly collided right into McGongall who was dueling fiercely with a brutal faced looking death eater who upon noticing Fenrir's escape, ran up after him. McGongall turned and ran across the other side of the room sending spells at another Death Eater who had just blasted one of the glass windows with an off target curse. The room seemed slightly less full of Death Eaters now- Tonks felt a terrible sinking feeling in her gut as she realized that most of them had all run up the tower. She ran forward, but Neville Longbottom was ahead of her- running at the stairs at a full sprint. Upon reaching the foot of the staircase he was blasted backward as if he had collided into a brick wall. He fell to the ground and lay there, and Tonks jumped between him and a giant blonde death eater who had just sent a curse at the fallen Neville.

The Death Eater was huge- at least twice her size in both height and width, and seemed to have no care that his wild spells were going in no apparent direction, but bouncing off the walls aiming at both friend and foe. While Tonks frantically dueled the giant Death Eater she saw a flash of black robes that she knew did not belong to a death eater-

Snape!

Never had she been so happy at the arrival of her former greasy haired potions master-but when she had finished throwing another hex at the Death Eater before her and looked quickly around to see where Snape was, he was gone. The Order was loosing, Dumbledore was gone and Bill was now bleeding heavily on the floor somewhere nearby with no one to help him-

We're in a pickle now…

Remus in the middle of a duel-had just seen with a sudden stop of his heart none other than Fenrir Greyback race up the astronomy tower steps. McGongall took his place in his duel as Remus lunged forward and raced towards the foot of the stairs only to see Neville Longbottom be thrown violently backwards from it. Only seconds later- there was a flash of black robes and Severus Snape appeared from the battle running through the obvious magical barrier as if there were nothing before him-

Remus ran forward towards the steps, but the barrier remained just as solid and unyielding for him as it had been with Neville.

"They've blocked the stairs!" Remus shouted. "Reducto! REDUCTO!"

But it seemed to have no impact on the invisible barrier.

Ron had appeared by his side, and he too was throwing desperate spells at the barrier which were bouncing away like Remus's but Remus wouldn't stop. He kept trying everything he knew, fighting away like a maniac because the one thing he knew was that Harry was with Dumbledore- Harry could be in danger- and some of the Death Eaters had escaped.

The one consolidation he had was that Snape was there- Snape would try to help of course-

He threw another spell and watched it uselessly be absorbed into the blank, unyielding air before him.

Perhaps Dumbledore and Harry wouldn't even be there at that top of the tower- there was no reason to believe they'd come back already and no reason why they would go to the top of the astronomy tower- But Gibbon who had ran up the tower stairs earlier could not have been going up to enjoy the night sky. Remus suspected he had sent up the Dark Mark already- perhaps they were waiting for Dumbledore and Harry to swallow the bait and go there, but no one had been killed yet.

Yet…

The single word sent a surge of panic through him and Remus angrily ran forward at the barrier and as he reached it, felt himself be thrown backwards as if he had been roughly pushed back by someone the size of the Death Eater that Tonks was now dueling.

The blonde Death Eater seemed to be absolutely out of control- jinxes were bouncing off the walls and just barely missing everyone. Remus who had put out his hand to push himself up off the floor almost had it blasted before his eyes as a jinx put a crater size hole in the floor a millisecond after he had lifted his hand.

Ginny was trying to make her way through the rubble with Professor McGongall- both visibly unhurt to Remus's relief- in the flashing of spells he couldn't see Bill or Neville. He could hear Neville groaning nearby though so at least he knew the boy was alive which was a relief.

Suddenly there was a loud noise from above that sounded like a crack of lightening. Remus's head went up instantly and he saw that the blonde Death Eater had just sent a jinx at the ceiling right above the doorframe to the stairs.

There was a few seconds of utter silence and then a loud, deafening rumble as half the ceiling caved in. Remus could hear Ron let out an angry swearword as the stones came tumbling down. He sent over a shield charm at a nearby Neville so the boy wouldn't be hurt by the falling boulders and ducked as stone grit began to fall on them all like rain.

Coughing and gasping were the only sounds for a moment before the large Death Eater continued to send curses haphazardly about the room as if nothing had happened. A large cloud of dust was growing larger by the second and Remus blindly ran towards the tower staircase-

Two dark figures emerged from at the foot of the stairs. Remus had his wand raised ready to curse them when the smoke parted for a moment and he saw that it was Snape and Malfoy.

Remus let out a sigh of relief- perhaps there had been nothing to worry about afterall. Harry and Dumbledore obviously weren't back or they would have come out with Snape and Malfoy as well-

There was a yell and suddenly Death Eaters were pouring out of the stairway- wands raised and in a few chaotic seconds, the room was full of flashes again and the shouting of spells. Remus could distinctly hear Snape shout- "Its over, time to go!"

What was 'over'? Remus thought as he dueled one of the Death Eaters, but he couldn't focus on Snape's words when the heat of battle made it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything but staying alive.

There was a bright flash from one of the other nearby duels and in that split second, Remus saw him. Harry Potter was at the foot of the tower stairs, his face pale and the look in his green eyes was that of wild determination. Though he was too wound up in the state of battle to ponder why Harry had just appeared from out of nowhere, Remus felt a cold stab of fear. He had seen that look on far too many fighter's faces before they led themselves to their immediate, reckless destruction.

"Harry!" he shouted as he sent a jinx at the Death Eater before him.

But Harry seemed to be deaf to his cries that were most likely lost to the noisy battle that engulfed them on all sides. Remus glimpsed the boy run forward into the fray before turning back to the Death Eater he was dueling.

The Death Eaters seemed to be fleeing. Remus saw Alecto and Amycus Carrow running down the hallway after Snape and Malfoy. Were they chasing them or just trying to escape? Remus's death eater seemed to realize that half of his crowd were leaving and with a terrified bellow he ran after them.

The enormous blonde death eater let out a yell as a hex hit him suddenly in the face and he too bolted after Alecto and Amycus. Nearby Remus could see McGongall had engaged in a duel with another death eater and as he glanced about again he saw Harry at a full sprint taking off down the hallway that the Death Eaters had gone down.

"Harry!" Remus shouted. "HARRY!"

A movement against the wall caught his eye and as he turned, time seemed to slow to a crawl. His blood which had been surging with fiery adrenaline before now quickly turned to a black, seething bloodlust similar to when he was transformed as a werewolf-

Fenrir Greyback.

Remus couldn't stop himself- the last time they had been this close was out in the woods- the Montgomery's woods right before the moon had risen and Fenrir had bitten that little boy…Davey…a boy had been killed because of Fenrir, and Tonks had been in danger too-

Remus let out an inarticulate yell of rage as he sent a spell right at the sneaking werewolf. Unfortunately it missed him by the narrowest of hairs and he jumped backwards- his eyes narrowed as they darted about the room looking for his foe.

Remus charged and Fenrir's blood-stained teeth bared as he saw him. Remus sent another spell at Fenrir and the werewolf ducked with reflexes so fast he was a blur. As they fought- Remus sending spells and Fenrir ducking them as he tried to run, he knew that he had the upper hand. Fenrir wouldn't try to attack him like this when Remus had his wand in his hand and was using it with an unabated fury.

There was a scream from behind him, "REMUS!"

He knew instinctively that it was Tonks but he could only focus on trying to curse the werewolf before him to make him suffer. He was allowing himself to succumb to fight for revenge- revenge for Bronagh, Davey and all the other hundreds of bitten victims this monster had brought into the world.

"Catch me—if you can—Lupin!" panted the werewolf as he ducked another burst of spells from Remus.

Remus raised his wand again, his lined face contorted with fury- and a sudden spell from behind went shooting past his ear. The spell had thrown him off balance for the briefest of seconds and that was all Fenrir needed. As Remus glimpsed the Death Eater behind him who had tried to curse him- Fenrir ran.

Furious at the distraction, Remus ran forward after Fenrir but felt another spell from the death eater hit him from behind, this one meeting its mark-

"Crucio!"

White hot daggers were piercing him all over- for a moment, Remus forgot everything, but as the pain mounted he remembered and determined to resist, Remus stumbled forward trying to follow Fenrir- his limbs twitching and writhing, resisting his attempts to ignore the blinding pain. He felt himself fall forward, engulfed in the overwhelming agony-

"NO!" shouted a voice and the spell lifted. Remus sat up, dazed and unfocused as the Death Eater ran down the corridor after Fenrir.

There was a blast of red light as Tonks sent another spell after the running Death Eater. Remus got to his feet and stumbled before starting to set off down the hall-

"Remus, no!" Tonks had grabbed the front of his robes and was holding him tightly.

"There are…students in the building, Tonks…Greyback-"

"I'm going now-" said another nearby voice. Minvera McGongall was sprinting down the hall, her square glasses slightly askew. "No harm will come to a Hogwarts student inside of these walls!"

The pain was slowly subsiding. Tonks was still holding him up by his robes, her dark eyes almost frightened as she started intently into his face.

"Thank you." He whispered, his breathing still heavy.

Tonks looked as if she were having an inward struggle with herself and in the end, settled for gently letting go of him and smoothing down a torn part of his robes with her hand.

"You're welcome." She said.

Remus stood there swaying- trying to think of what to do next…

Ginny Weasley suddenly let out a scream. "Bill!"

Remus turned at the terrified scream and saw Ginny at Bill's side looking frantic as she gazed down at her older brother.

"Bill!"

Remus felt a stab of horror. He raced forward his legs still feeling heavy and unsteady as he climbed over the large bits of fallen ceiling and the cracked, dusty ground to kneel by Bill's side. It was as if he were looking into a stranger's face. It was so distorted and deformed under all the blood, he never would have even guessed that this had once been the handsome Bill Weasley. And those claw marks were terribly familiar….

But he was breathing. Despite the fact that his face was horribly damaged, he was visibly alive.

Tonks fell to her knees beside him. "He's alright- he's alive...just unconscious." she said to Ginny who looked utterly petrified.

"We'll have to get him to Madam Pomprey." Tonks said quickly, turning to him and Remus nodded his agreement.

Tonks tore off a apart of her ripped sleeve on her robes to try and stop the flow of blood on Bill. Within a few alarming seconds, the cloth had turned a dark, angry crimson. Remus looked back over at his former students, Ron was starting to come over to see Bill, a shocked expression on his pale, freckled face. "Ron, would you help carry Neville to the hospital wing?"

"Yeah, sure." said Ron slowly, as he began to retreat- his eyes never leaving Bill's face as he reluctantly made his way over to a groaning Neville.

"We'll lift him on the count of three." Tonks was saying and then stopped, Bill's limp arm over her shoulder. "Where's Ginny?"

Ron nearly dropped Neville.

Remus eyed the bloody footprints leading away through the thin dust cloud and Tonks followed his eyes and drew breath sharply.

"Ah," she said. "I should have guessed."

"Let's get Bill to the hospital wing-" said Remus. "And Neville too while we're at it."

"Where's my sister?" Ron asked, still looking about.

But Tonks spoke up, "I think she went to follow Harry."

Ron swore very loudly.

"McGongall went that way too." Remus added hoarsely. He felt exhausted, but the fear of not knowing where Harry was in this terrible situation was keeping his nerves more alert than ever before.

Tonks started to heave Bill to his feet. "I want to find them after we get Bill taken care of."

Remus took hold of Bill's other side. "I'll be there too."

Remus could have put money down that the last thing Madam Pomprey had expected to see upon being woken up at such a late hour was a man with such a bloody visage he looked as if he were wearing a Halloween mask. From seeing her shocked expression, he believed that the old matron had been a second away from swearing- but she caught herself quickly and set about getting ready to work remarkably fast.

"Are you two hurt?" she inquired of Remus and talks as they both lay Bill gently on the bed.

"No." Tonks said as Remus shook his head.

She looked at them, momentarily shocked. "Not at all?"

Tonks spoke up, "Madam Pomprey...Bill!"

"Of course dear." said the matron as she hastily got to work on the oldest Weasley boy. "But it's odd coming from you both. I daresay I spent more time nursing up various injuries from you two then the rest of the students in your years combined."

Indeed when Remus had walked into the hospital wing, it had all been very strange. It seemed as if he had spent at least half of his school years in there, recovering from monthly transformations. It certainly wasn't helping his nerves in his current state to be standing there again.

Hermione and Luna Lovegood arrived just seconds later with a still rather frantic looking Ginny who had been sent to the hospital wing at McGongall's orders when she ran into her. At Remus's immediate inquiry she told him that she had not found Harry.

Madam Pomprey was still working furiously with Bill's wounds- wand in one hand, a jar of some foul smelling liquid in the other, murmuring incantations as she worked on Bill's newly acquired scars.

"It seems as if the whole school is awake now." Hermione was saying quickly, after being reunited with Ron. "What's going on?"

"Well there was a fight up at the Astronomy Tower-" Ron said in a hollow voice as he stared blankly at one Bill's medicine bottles. "Obviously. And Harry's run off after Snape and Malfoy-"

"Harry's back then?" asked Hermione. "Then where is Dumbledore?"

Remus until then had not thought of the elderly headmaster, but now that Hermione mentioned it- it seemed an alarming question. Where was he? Surely he wouldn't have let Harry run off on his own after the Death Eaters?

No sooner had he thought this and watched as Madam Pomprey turned to get new supplies for Bill- Hermione finally caught a good look at Bill and she gasped loudly, "Oh my goodness…Bill!"

Ron stared at his brother's face in numb silence as blood continued to dribble down the cloth Madam Pomprey had just laid there, as she reached for another bottle and flipped to a page in an ancient looking book she had brought out and perched on the bedside table.

"It was Fenrir." Tonks said in a hollow voice. "I saw it happen."

A hushed silence fell over them all.

Remus caught Tonks's eye and held it as they exchanged a look of silent understanding over the body of Bill that might have lasted forever if Hermione hadn't spoken up to Madam Pomprey, breaking the slience-

"There's no way you can fix them, is there?"
The matron shook her head. "No. He won't look the same way again- I can try everything I know, but the fact is werewolf bites never heal properly."

"What about the aftereffects?" Hermione asked timidly.

"I don't know that either." said Madam Pomprey nervously. "Not until he wakes up at least."

Neville let out the smallest of groans and Madam Pomprey rounded on him. "Why haven't you taken the medicine I've given you?" she demanded.

"I want to stay awake-"

"-I've already told you my boy that sleeping is apart of that particular potion! You have to take it to get better-"

"I want to know what's going on-"

"Don't worry, Neville." said Luna Lovegood suddenly in her soft dreamy voice- "We'll tell you everything later if something important comes along."

Hermione nodded and Ron managed to tear his eyes away from his older brother and add in a flat voice that was obviously trying to sound encouraging, "Yeah…go ahead Neville."

After a few seconds, Neville's face still screwed up with pain as he tried to appear defiant- he reached for the potion bottle by his bedside.

"Drink it up." said Madam Pomprey as she turned back to Bill.

The effect was almost instantaneous. Neville slumped back amongst the pillows in a deep sleep and the bottle fell from his limp hand where it would have smashed on the floor if Hermione hadn't caught it in time.

The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow as everyone watched helplessly as Madam Pomprey cleaned Bill up. Suddenly a sharp movement caught Remus's eye and he looked up to see Tonks looking about the deserted ward as if she was looking for something, "Where's Ginny?"

Everyone, even Madam Pomprey turned to look about the ward.

"I think she's gone outside." Luna stated calmly.

Tonks made a move towards the door at the end of the ward, but Remus reached out and grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"Tonks-"

She rounded on him looking furious that he had touched her and yanked her wrist away from him as if she had been burned. "What? I'm just going out in the hall to check and see-"

"McGongall gave us orders to stay here."

"Well somebody already broke them so I don't feel that bad about going out to see-"

"I'll go then, and you just-"

"-stay here?" she finished, in the most acid of tones.

"Tonks please-"

"Forget it-"

Just then, at the far end of the ward, the doors suddenly swung open. Remus heard Tonks let out an enormous sigh of relief. To Remus's own utter relief Harry walked in looking utterly exhausted, with Ginny close behind him. Hermione ran forward to Harry and hugged him and Remus was right behind her-

"Are you all right, Harry?" he asked anxiously. He was safe….he was alive…It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest and he could breath easier. Despite this miraculous relief, Remus wondered where Dumbledore was. Surely he would want to keep an eye on Harry in all this confusion? He had to be coming by in another minute or so….

"I'm fine." said Harry carelessly. "How's Bill?"

Remus watched as Harry looked about the room and his gaze fell upon the newly mutilated appearance of Bill.

"Can't you fix them with a charm or something?" he asked Madam Pomfrey.

"No charm will work on these," said Madam Pomfrey heavily. "I've tried everything I know, but there is no cure for werewolf bites."

Don't I know it. Remus couldn't help but think dryly.

"But he wasn't bitten at the full moon," said Ron, who was still staring in shock at his oldest brother's face. "Greyback hadn't transformed, so surely Bill won't be a—a real—?"

Ron's eyes slid to him, his face still etched with fear and uncertainty. Remus had the sensation that suddenly everybody was hanging onto his every word.

"No, I don't think that Bill will be a true werewolf." He said slowly. "But that does not mean that there won't be some contamination. Those are cursed wounds. They are unlikely ever to heal fully, and –and Bill might have some wolfish characteristics from now on."

Remus could only feel guilt and frustration that he couldn't have finished Fenrir off when he had the chance earlier. He had been so close…

"Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though," Ron said. "Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state—"

"Ron—Dumbledore's dead." said Ginny.

It was in that moment that Remus's world finally seemed to collapse and shatter. Though the night had thrown many different changing and challenging obstacles, Remus had held his thoughts and emotions in check, but this news made it all blasted into oblivion.

"No!" he said loudly. He looked wildly from Ginny to Harry waiting for him- waiting for anyone to say that this was false, a lie, an appalling untruth-

And there was nothing but silence. Harry's brilliant green eyes just held grim acknowledgment of Ginny's terrible words.

He was truly gone then.

Remus fell backwards into a chair beside Bill's bed- if the chair hadn't been there he probably would have fallen to the floor. He didn't care though. He buried his head in his hands trying- trying beyond endurance to pull back snapped threads of an old reality- another world…

But it was useless. It always had been useless. Since the moment he had been bitten as a small child, the world seemed to destroy itself around him in wrathful waves-his family- James and Lily- Sirius- Dumbledore…

But he had known. Just as he had always known deep down as soon as Harry had walked into the ward- before that even- perhaps even before Dumbledore himself left his side a mere few hours ago…he had known in his heart that Dumbledore was gone.

It wasn't grief he was trying to cope with- he knew from experience that the grief took days, weeks- even months to come to terms with. In that moment it was just plain shock that he had to overcome. The three words- a sort of morbid mantra, 'Dumbledore is dead'. To accept them, to even process the words in his brain and understand their meaning was what he had to come to terms with there.

He was only drawn back to reality- a floating, dreamlike state- as he felt rather than heard Tonks take the smallest of steps towards him. "How did he die?" whispered Tonks. "How did it happen?"

It seemed as if everything was suspended on this terrible moment- he didn't want to hear it- he couldn't hear it…but he had to know…

"Snape killed him," said Harry. "I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was….Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak—and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him—"

He saw Hermione clap her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned out loud. Luna Lovegood's mouth trembled.

"—more Death Eaters arrived—and then Snape—and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra."

Snape…Snape killed Dumbledore. And he had had Snape at wand point earlier before letting him pass- still believing- still foolishly believing Snape was their ally. How much of that wretched man would Remus have to endure? The man who seemed to have a hand in most of the destruction of Remus's friends and their eventual demises. Remus sat there, his heart feeling more and more painfully tight by the second. It was like when he had seen Fenrir again, the poisonous rage was quickly coming back to him. Remus wanted Snape dead. And he wanted to be the one to kill him.

Deep down he knew that he was letting his anger get the better of him- but the overwhelming desire to run off and kill the man in revenge for Dumbledore's unnecessary death was more than a little tempting.

He had to hear the whole story…he had to know the truth….McGongall soon arrived and the truth did quickly start to unfold- the horrible truth- how Dumbledore had honestly believed Snape was sorry he had killed James and Lily…how Draco Malfoy had gotten the Death Eaters into the school….the fight that broke out around the tower stairs…

Tonks was talking now in a unusually hollow voice, "We just let them pass, we thought they were being chased by Death Eaters –and next thing, the other Death Eaters and Greyback were back and we were fighting again—I thought I heard Snape shout something, but I don't know what—"

"He shouted 'It's over,'" said Harry. "He'd done what he'd meant to do."

The silence that followed this statement was long and suffocating. It truly was over. The world as Remus had once known it was gone forever… resigned to ashes….resigned to dust…just like Dumbledore…

Out on the grounds he could hear Fawkes singing a lament. The audible sorrow from Dumbledore's faithful pet was perhaps the only thing in the world that could match Remus's grief. He buried his head in his hands again,

It is over.

Tonks stood there feeling numb. Dumbledore was dead. Dumbledore had been killed….killed by Snape. How could something like this happen? She half expected the world to stop spinning when Ginny had told them the terrible news- It couldn't possibly be true, and yet it was-

The doors of the hospital wing burst open suddenly with such a loud bang, they all jumped in surprise. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had arrived at last with a terrified Fleur right behind them.

McGongall got to her feet- "Molly—Arthur—" she said, "I am so sorry—"

Tonks did not blame Molly Weasely in the slightest for all but ignoring McGongall as she caught sight of her son's mangled face and pushed past them all, "Bill…Oh Bill!"

Tonks hastily stood up and Remus by her side got up as well so they could move aside to allow Mr. and Mrs. Weasley the chance to get nearer to the bed. Tonks watched as Mrs. Weasley bent over her son and pressed her trembling lips to his bloody forehead. As McGonagall and Mr. Weasley talked, Tonks could not help but stare at Fleur.

The beautiful veela descendant was standing there, looking like a beautiful ice sculpture as she stared down at her fiance's mangled face. In her eyes were the purest expression of shock. Tonks had never liked Fleur very much, but she felt a wave of pity for her.

"Dumbledore gone," whispered Mr. Weasley, but Mrs. Weasley suddenly began to sob for her eldest son.

"Of course, it doesn't matter how he looks….It's not r-really important…but he was a very handsome little b-boy….always very handsome….and he was g-going to be married!"

Fleur's head snapped up at these words. "And what do you mean by zat?" she said loudly. "What do you mean, ''e was going to be married?'"

Mrs. Weasley raised her tear-stained face, looking startled. "Well—only that—"

"You theenk Bill will not wish to marry me anymore?" demanded Fleur. "You theenk, because of these bites, he will not love me?"

Love me…

"No, that's not what I—"

"Because 'e will!" said Fleur, drawing herself up to her full height and throwing back her long mane of silver hair. "It would take more zan a werewolf to stop Bill loving me!"

A werewolf…

"Well, yes, I'm sure," said Mrs. Weasely, "But I thought perhaps—given how—how he—"

"You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per'aps, you hoped?" said Fleur, her nostrils flaring. Tonks could not honestly blame her for being as furious as she obviously was. "What do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave! And I shall do zat!" she added fiercely, all but pushing Mrs. Weasley aside as she seized the ointment from the stunned woman's hands and began mopping up Bill's wounds herself.

Nobody said anything, or even moved as they waited for the inevitable explosion, but Molly Weasley standing against her husband was watching Fleur with a strange look on her face.

After a pause that seemed to last for an eternity- Mrs. Weasley spoke-

"Our Great-Auntie Muriel has a very beautiful tiara—goblin-made—which I am sure I could persuade her to lend you for the wedding. She is very fond of Bill, you know, and so it would look lovely with your hair."

"Thank you," said Fleur stiffly. "I am sure zat will be lovely."

And suddenly, both women were crying and hugging each other as everyone else exchanged bewildered looks…

Everyone that was, besides Tonks. At the sight of the two crying women over Bill's body something inside her seemed to snap inside of her. Everything that had happened that night and built up all over the past few months seemed to break suddenly like a dam-

She turned to face Remus who was watching the scene with mild surprise on his lined face.

"You see?" she said in a strained voice. "She still wants to marry him even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!"

Remus tensed as if she had brandished a whip and his eyes immediately fell to the floor. "It's different." he said, his lips barely moving as he avoided looking at her. "Bill will not be a full werewolf, the cases will be entirely different-"

She had had enough. Tonks forgetting the fact that the room was full of people watching them seized the front of his robes and began shaking him roughly. "But I don't care either, I don't care! I've told you a million times!"

Tonks was only dimly aware that everybody in the room was still watching them. Remus's reply was all that mattered-

But he still wouldn't look at her. "And I've told you a million times," he said quietly- his voice sounding as if it were pleading for her to understand- "I'm too old, too poor… too dangerous…"

Tonks took a sharp breath and was a second away from physically slapping him when suddenly a voice came to the rescue-

"I've said all along that you've taken a ridiculous line on this Remus." Molly Weasley said as she patted Fleur on the back.

"I am not being ridiculous." Remus said steadily. "Tonks deserves somebody young and whole-"

But then Mr. Weasely spoke up, managing a small smile as he said- "But she wants you. And after all Remus, young and whole men do not necessarily stay so-" He gestured sadly to a disfigured Bill.

She watched Remus swallow nervously. "This is… not the moment to discuss it-" he said distractedly looking about the room, avoiding all eye contact whatsoever. "Dumbledore is dead."

And then a third savior- "Dumbledore would have been happier than anybody knowing that there was a little more love in the world." McGonagall said curtly.

Tonks waited for his response- waited for anything….a sign from above-

The doors at the end of the wing burst open once again and everyone wheeled around to see who it was. Hagrid stepped inside. Tonks reluctantly let her hands fall from Remus's robes as Hagrid, shaking with tears spoke-

"I've….I've done it, Professor," he choked. "M-moved him. Professor Sprout's got the kids back in bed. Professor Flitwick's lyin' down, but he says he'll be all righ' in a jiffy, an' Professor Slughorn says the Ministry's bin informed."

"Thank you, Hagrid," said Professor McGongall, standing up and facing them all looking like an impressive tower of strength. "I shall have to see the Ministry when they get here." she said to them all. "Hagrid, please tell the Heads of Houses—Slughorn can represent Slytherin—that I want to see them in my office forthwith. I would like you to join us too."

Hagrid nodded and shuffled out as McGongall turned to Harry, "Before I meet with them I would like a quick word with you, Harry. If you'll come with me…"
Harry turned slowly to his friends and said solemnly, "See you in a bit." before following Professor McGongall down the ward and the doors closed behind them.

A heavy silence fell over them all. The distant phoenix song was now but an echo on the outside grounds. Tonks stared numbly at Bill in order to avoid looking around the room and meeting the curious stares she could feel coming in all directions at her and Remus. Oddly enough, she had the strange sensation that Remus was staring just as intently at Bill too…probably for the same reason.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Ron asked awkwardly.

Mr. Weasley sighed heavily and ran a hand through his thinning hair. "I'm not sure."

"What about the school?" Hermione asked. "Will they shut it down?"

The other children looked startled at this alarming proposition but Remus spoke up suddenly,

"Perhaps. Honestly, I would be very surprised if the school did stay open. Many parents will be upset over what has happened tonight."

Damn him for trying to avoid the subject between us! Tonks thought furiously, though were she to admit it, it did make sense to a point to try and move on in the company of everyone. It did annoy her just the same though that he was so eager to avoid the subject all together as if nothing had just happened between them. She felt like she wanted to cry or scream…maybe even both.

Another awkward silence fell over them all again.

Ginny stood up suddenly to go sit by her mother's side. Mrs. Weasley drew her daughter tightly to her, sandwiching her between Fleur and herself. Ginny caught Tonks's eye and gave her an understanding look which Tonks was finding easier to accept than the pitying look that Hermione was now giving her. She was feeling more ashamed and embarrassed by the minute that she had snapped so dramatically in front of everyone. Of course- she would never take it back. She had had enough of Remus. She couldn't have taken it any longer. Standing there by Bill's bedside, with her thoughts unable to focus on anything but Dumbledore's sudden death and the stupid bloke standing beside her- she decided she had to take action.

She cleared her throat. "Are you lot alright?"

"Yes." said Hermione, who though she still looked shaken seemed to have regained a sense of composure.

Luna and Ron both nodded and Ginny who was sitting by her mother's side seemed calm enough given the situation.

Tonks straightened up and took a deep steadying breath, "I'm going outside for a walk, I'll be right back."

There were a few more mute nods and Tonks left the hospital wing quickly, letting out her breath in a heavy sigh. She was exhausted, overwhelmed, grief-stricken over Dumbledore and wanted nothing more than to clear her head. She figured a solitary walk on the grounds might help her.

She walked down the long hallway to avoid the oncoming Ministry party she could hear that had just entered the castle. From the sounds of it Scrimgeour had brought half the Ministry. She continued on her deserted way quietly as she started remembering how good Dumbledore had been to her. Of course, he had let Remus on that stupid mission but she owed him much more than a pointless, half-hearted grudge. He had allowed her to join the Order (which was she thought was a very good thing, other wise she never would have met Sirius or Remus). He had given her a reassuring smile at her first Order meeting and his eyes had twinkled with sincere amusement at some of her antics on several occasions that failed to amuse most of the other members. And he had been one of the few that had called her Tonks at her request…he didn't use Nymphadora at all, well- at least not to her face.

And before that even- when she had been at school, an awkward first year and he had accidentally discovered her hiding and crying in an empty classroom. She had been teased ruthlessly by some of her fellow classmates for being a metamorphous. After calming her down a bit Dumbledore had handed her a purple handkerchief to dry her eyes with and told her something that she never forgot…

She had been sniffling into the handkerchief, still slightly terrified to meet the great Headmaster's light blue eyes straight on. "People laugh at me because I'm different- I don't want to be different."

He had smiled gently at this. "Miss Tonks, everyone is different in one way or another. Just because your way stands out more does not mean you have to be ashamed of it. People should be proud of their differences; it's what makes us uniquely individual."

"Other kids don't grow pig snout noses." she had mumbled while shuffling her feet awkwardly.

"No." he had said thoughtfully. "Most do not. But I think it's better for a person to grow different noses than to shrink their heart. I personally think that if I had a skill like yours I would use it to do something wild with it. Perhaps I would change my hair colour. I would give myself a bright, sunny yellow beard instead of the dull white one I have now." Tonks was so shocked that her headmaster was saying something so ridiculous, she had actually smiled. "Or maybe to get into the holiday I would try growing some fangs on Halloween?"

"People would think I was a werewolf." Tonks had laughed.

Dumbledore had appeared pensive for a moment before saying wisely, "People tend to be afraid of what they don't truly understand or know." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate frog and handed it to her. "It is our job as humans to not simply teach others the truth, but to teach acceptance and love through our actions."

Tonks, now walking down the deserted corridor felt an aching sort of sadness in her heart. Dumbledore was gone. The idea of fighting a battle against Voldemort without Dumbledore on their side was suddenly terrifying. How could they stand a chance? If only he was still alive…

She shook her head and wiped away a falling tear. There was no purpose in using the words 'if only'. The world was made up of them but they still changed nothing. You could think of them until your head ached and your tears could fill one of Hagrid's oversized tankards but the truth was, they didn't help. Besides, Dumbledore himself would have wanted them all to move on and remember the old times with fondness while carrying on a brave face for the dark future- she knew that if nothing else for certain.

She had just reached the Entrance Hall and had just crossed the length of it to throw open the heavy doors when she heard a voice echoing behind her.

"Tonks?"

She would have known that voice anywhere. A surge of anger rose within her and she picked up her pace without turning around.

"Tonks-"

Almost inwardly cursing herself for doing so, she turned around to face him. "What?" she huffed.

"Why did you leave?"

"I must have spent half of my school years in the hospital wing from various accidents." she said shortly. "Staying in there was giving me bad memories."

Unbelievably he smiled at this. Furious at him, she turned and continued to storm across the entrance hall.

"Tonks, wait-"

She ignored him and walked out the large front door onto the dusky grounds. She was halfway down the front steps when she heard her name again-

"Tonks, please wait for a moment-"

She stopped short and took a deep breath before turning to face him again, "I'm not a patient person Remus. And I have waited a very long time.

"I know." He said solemnly from standing on the top of the stairs, looking down at her with an unreadable expression.

"So why'd you come out here? Did Molly Weasley give you some encouraging words perhaps?"

He seemed removed from the bitterness in her words. "No." he said softly. "I came out here on my own."

She was about to walk away again and never look back again but she found herself talking instead. "I love you. I've always loved you, and I know that at least one time you loved me back. I wasn't the only one who saw it."

He stared at her in silence.

The words continued to flow from her mouth, but she was so tired- she had no desire to stop them-"I've held onto hope for the both of us now, and let me tell you- when one person refuses to even try it's hard. And after some time you start to doubt if you're making the right move or if it's even worth holding onto since it obviously isn't going anywhere."

She started to walk slowly down the rest of the steps, her eyes filling with tears that she had no control over. Remus walked quietly behind her, minding his distance-

"I'm not asking for a fairytale ending Remus- how many fables do you know end happily with the wolf and the princess riding off happily into the sunset? But I am asking for moments, Remus. Just moments. Little things to live by, because that's what life is all about…moments…"

She looked out at the dark sky- in the east, it was just slightly less dark- the sun was about to rise…

"I've held onto hope for the both of us and now I want to know if I should just stop here, because really, what's the point now if its never is going to go anywhere?"

She turned to look at him, unable to stop the flow of tears. She saw the concerned look in his brown eyes but she kept talking, determined to get every last thing that she wanted to say out at last-

"You've been hurt before, I know that. You've been hurt by people and hurt even more by allowing yourself to care and love others before they betrayed you or you lost them in one way or another- but I'm not going to hurt you. I won't hurt you like they did. As long as its in my control I won't hurt you and I can take good care of myself you know…"

Retaining some of her dignity at those last words she took a deep, shaky breath and drawing herself up to full height looked at him. "If there's one thing I can't stand though, its liars Remus. So tell me the truth. Just give me the honest truth and I'll leave this whole thing in the past with no more questions or anything...does it end here today, or not?

She unconsciously held her breath as she waited for his answer…

He stared calmly at her for a moment before saying in a steady voice, "I hope it does end today."

Tonks felt her heart freeze before it started to crack and break like shattered ice. She closed her eyes, pursed her lips and tried to stop the tears.

"I hope this does stay in the past because I love you and I want to move on from all this and start over."

Her eyes snapped open. For an incredulous moment she believed- she opened her mouth- her breath caught in her throat- the question halfway to her lips.

"Yes," Remus said seriously. "I do love you. Don't you doubt it- not even once."

Tonks stood there, swaying slightly on the spot. He said love. He had said it. Said the word that she had waited to hear from him for ages. There was no apology or embarrassment in his eyes. Just the truth.

She knew, just as she had always known that deep down, he had truly loved her.

Tonks ran forward and threw her arms around Remus's neck- feeling as if she could die from happiness- all they needed was the swelling crescendo from the stupid opera he loved so much and it would be absolutely perfect.

Slightly off balanced from her thrown weight, he swung her around gently and set her down carefully, pushing a stray lock away from her face. She was crying like an utter prat and she wasn't even sure why- "So you're willing to take a chance with me?" she asked.

"If you'll still have me and forgive me for my atrocious actions over these past few months." Remus said quietly.

"Because you love me?"

"Because I finally realized no matter how hard I tried to fight it-I was always going to go on loving you. It's difficult to fight lycanthropy- but I discovered that it's harder, impossible in fact-to fight love."

She opened her mouth to say something ridiculous or anything at all and stopped- staring closely at him. He was smiling faintly as the soft wind blew his slightly untidy gray-streaked hair about. Tonks felt the tears still flowing from her eyes and stood there stock still as he ran a pale hand along the side of her face and pushed back her own mousy brown hair that had fallen into her face-

Both of them went forward at the same time, their lips meeting the others with a gentle and slightly hesitant longing. After a few seconds as they tentatively explored the other lips, Remus making no effort to resist- their lips parted and all Tonks could do was surrender to the unrestrained warmth. Eyes closed, she waited to wake- because this all had to be a dream- Remus saying he loved her, them kissing one another like this after such a tragedy. Despite the most recent and dark events Tonks could only think of the present and surrender to her happiness. Reluctantly, realizing she needed air, she pulled back slowly and opened her eyes.

His eyes had opened and as he stared breathlessly at her, he was smiling broader than before.

"What?" Tonks asked curiously, her heart still beating fast against her ribcage.

"Pink again." Remus stated with a nod towards the top of her head, a hand still around her waist.

She reached up to her own head and felt the long lost short-spiky pink locks on her hair again in full bloom.

"I missed them." He said as he eyed them fondly.

"Bollocks, my hair- I missed you more." She said as she grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him closer to her as their urgent lips met yet again.

They stood there kissing one another, entwined in each other's arms, oblivious to the world, unaware of the dangers that lay ahead, only caught in the present and only aware of the other as golden rays of sunlight peeked over the dark horizon…

It was a new day.

Author's note: Ah, Part II is finished! This is where originally I had put the words: 'The End'. I had never planned a part III, but then I finished reading Deathly Hallows, picked my jaw up off the tissue-covered floor and almost immediately started thinking…

So now there's a Part III to be written, and coming very soon. I hope you lot are happy. :D