Author's Note:
Hope you like it so far ^_^ Remember to review, thanks so much!
Chapter 11 – Just a Bit Beyond Your Reach
That night the late November moon was changing again. The moon was cold and pale, but it wasn't as lonely as it had always been. Looking up at the sky from his office window, Remus could see the many stars in the sky. He felt the same as he did around the same time every month. But somehow, that month there was another feeling in the mix. He felt warm. The moon that month wasn't as lonely as the ones before.
A small owl arrived at his office window, its feathers grey and clean. Remus recognized it to be from Minerva McGonagall. He carefully untied the parchment from the bird and unfolded it as the bird left. Obviously Minerva wasn't expecting a reply. The letter was written in her tiny, elegant scrawl on Hogwarts letter paper.
Remus,
I must apologize for the inconvenience but I won't be able to cover your class this upcoming moon and Auror White will be busy patrolling the school by Alastor's orders. Therefore I have set it up so that Severus would cover your classes. Take care, Remus.
Sincerely Minerva McGonagall.
Setting down the letter, Remus turned to his blazing fire the mantle and sighed. He worried about Severus covering the class, wondering what more insults the man would leave for him. Suddenly, there was a soft knock at his door. He turned away from the fire and tiredly headed to the door.
"Nymphadora, hello," Remus smiled, forgetting his weariness entirely.
"Wotcher Remus, and stop calling me Nymphadora," she smiled, heading into the room as Remus walked close behind her.
"Alright," he smiled as he added more wood to the fire. "Is Alastor still questioning your team about the incident with Ron and Harry's bed curtains and Sirius being inside the castle?"
Tonks sat back and scoffed. "He's getting paranoid. To him, he'd allowed Sirius to slip by right under his nose…err, what's left of it," she chuckled. "He would use Veritaserum on everyone in the school if he only could. Though for the moment, he's taken back all our tools so they could double check them, meaning the time turners, locators, and necklaces are gone."
"Tonks, be careful. You and Alexis could get in big trouble if Alastor used Veritaserum. And without the tools, we won't be able to look for Peter until you get them back."
"No worries. If there's one thing useful about my bumbling cousin is that she knows a way around everything, including Veritaserum. Actually, all Unspeakables known how to resist Veritaserum, it's a part of their job. And we may not have the tools anymore but I still have the second locator Lexi nicked," Tonks smirked.
Remus smiled, looking at her. "You and Alexis make a great team."
"Well we understand each other rather well. That's why we work well together. You come to understand people after going through so much with them."
"I'd say we've been through quite a lot ourselves too. What after the last several months and the full moons," Remus smiled gently.
"I know Remus. That's why we're good friends now," Tonks smiled and patted his hand. "The November moon is coming up. What are you going to do?"
"What I do every other month I guess," Remus replied. "I've just gotten an owl from Minerva saying Severus would be covering my classes."
"Ugh, Snape," Tonks groaned with obvious disgust for the man. Remus chuckled. "Can I join you during the moon?" she asked.
"No," Remus replied immediately. "For the past two moons, I am more than grateful for your company. But unless something desperate comes up, I do not wish to endanger you."
"I'm a trained auror Remus, trained under Mad-Eye himself," Tonks sighed.
"And even trained aurors have been reported to get maimed by werewolves during the full moon. It would kill me if I put you in any danger, any at all. Please Nymphadora, I greatly appreciate the care and company, I really do, but I'd rather you not put yourself in danger."
Tonks was about to protest, but seeing the worry in his eyes she thought it would be best if she not stress the poor professor out before the moon. "Alright," she sighed. "Well what do you say we use my locator to look for Pettigrew? I want my cousin a free man as soon as literally possible," she smiled softly.
"As do I Nymphadora, as do I," Remus replied, getting up.
"Please stop calling me Nymphadora. It's a ghastly name, Remus," she sighed.
Remus chuckled. "Alright, but it's a beautiful name." She rolled her eyes at him, knowing he wasn't going to stop calling her by that wretched name. Tonks took out the locator and headed out of the classroom with Remus beside her. "Won't Alexis be joining us? You and she make a great team. Or has Alexis turned in early tonight?"
"No, she's usually pretty lazy but not tonight," Tonks replied softly as they walked in the empty corridors. "It's the twenty-seventh, my uncle Marcus, her dad's birthday. She's probably looking for some time alone."
Remus nodded and sighed. "I've heard Sirius talk about her parents' death. The First Wizarding War has broken many families and scarred many more."
"Yes. And my family was responsible for most of the loss," she sighed bitterly. "Aside from my mum, Sirius, Lexi, and her parents, the rest of the Black family really were the homicidal dark wizards the public make them out to be. Lexi lost her parents, Sirius lost his freedom, and my mum lost her siblings."
"I remembered your biggest fear is Bellatrix Lestrange."
"She's Lexi's biggest fear too. That woman alone tortured my mother for marrying my father, yelled and insulted me, and killed Lexi's parents. She'd done many more evil deeds."
"It's uh…it's quite a life you've got there Tonks," Remus spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "You're now friends with a werewolf too."
As they walked, Tonks looked up at him and smiled warmly. "Well you have quite a life too. With everything you've been through, you're now friends with a clumsy metamorphmagus."
"Not clumsy, brilliant and beautiful," he smiled.
"Thank you Remus. I never thought you'd be one for flattery."
"It's not flattery if it's the truth."
She was about to speak more but the locator in her hand suddenly went off. "Two floors down and to the east," she read from the complicated arrows on the compass-like instrument. "We're on the first floor now so he'd have to be in the dungeon." She turned to Remus.
"Well then we'll head there. And I'm guessing Alexis did some tinkering with that."
"Yep, bumbling, but no doubt brilliant cousin Lexi," Tonks scoffed. "And I'm supposed to be catching Sirius Black, my own cousin, but I end up looking for a traitor instead. How did I end up with a life like this Remus?"
He shrugged and smiled as they headed down the grand staircase with their wands lighting the way. Tonks' footing slipped and she tumbled down, her arms flailing. Luckily Remus had caught her in time, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her back up. Tonks' hands were on his chest as her eyes widened and her heart beat rapidly. Her morph had slipped back to her twenty-one year old self and Tonks thanked magic that her robes magically shifted along with her change.
"Thank you Remus," she breathed, her eyes lost in his.
"I'll always catch you from falling," Remus breathed as gentle blue met brilliant green and got lost in a spellbound connection.
After a while, Tonks pulled away from Remus, successfully breaking from his gaze and blushing madly. "I swear my clumsiness will be the death of me," she laughed nervously.
Remus only smiled as they continued descending the stairs. Tonks didn't bother to morph back and Remus could feel his heart beating at an irregular rhythm, a feeling he's never felt before. Remus felt flustered and forced himself not to breathe too heavily. He knew he was in danger of falling for Nymphadora Tonks, and he knew it shouldn't happen for her sake, for both their sakes. To distract himself, Remus reached into his pocket and took out a half eaten bar of Honeydukes' chocolate, his favorite.
Seeing him break off a piece of chocolate and place it in his mouth, Tonks laughed softly. "Chocolate is second to nothing in your world," she teased.
"Oh it's second to something Tonks," he smiled. "Would you like some?" he asked, handing her a piece he generously broke off.
"Thank you," she smiled and took it, eating the piece of chocolate as they headed into the dungeon. "Blimey. It's pointed to Snape's office," Tonks breathed. "Why Snape's?"
"I'm sure Severus is unaware. Though I am curious as to why Peter would be hanging around Severus' office."
"Do you think we should go in and look around?"
"If Severus would allow us then I don't see why not," Remus replied as they both stopped in front of the wooden door to Snape's personal office, drowned by the deafening silence that echoed and rang in the dreary dungeon.
Tonks drummed on the door while glancing at her locator, seeing that the main red arrow was pointing her straight inside while the other indicators were moving around only a tiny bit. They waited for a short moment and the door opened, blowing a gust of cold air in their faces. Severus Snape looked down at them in the doorway, his black robes and dark office proving true Tonks' theory in him being the dreariest man in the world.
"Lupin, taking a walk in the moonlight?" he sneered in his dry, monotone voice. "Can I help you and Nymphadora with something?" he asked as Tonks scowled at him, her hair red.
"We were wondering if we can search your office for Sirius Black," Remus replied carefully. "We've been tracking him from the third floor to here."
"Curios why you would want to look for him Lupin, your old friend, when you're neither an auror nor Unspeakable," Snape replied, thinking Sirius' animagus was a rat like everyone else Tonks and Lexi has fooled.
"Well I am an auror and Severus Snape I'd like to have your cooperation," Tonks jumped in, prepared to take out her auror badge if he continued to sneer. "I can call you Severus now because I'm not your student anymore, git," she thought.
Snape's beady black eyes shifted from Remus to Tonks. "Very well."
The dreary man stepped to the side as Remus and Tonks walked into his private office, their wands drawn out as they searched for the lying, traitorous rat that was Pettigrew. Tonks looked at her locator closely and quickly rushed forward towards the stone wall, the indicator growing stronger. Remus followed beside her and they both found a rat hole in the wall, hidden in the shadows beside Snape's large bookshelf. They've lost him again. Tonks was beginning to think perhaps they should start to build a better mouse trap.
"We could've grabbed him if we had the necklace," Tonks sighed.
"As long as he remains at Hogwarts, we'll catch him."
"I'm surprised to see you so eager to catch your own cousin, Nymphadora," Snape sneered, purposely drawing out each syllable of her name. "You must be a very devoted auror."
Getting up from the ground, Tonks growled at the potions master and was about to speak, challenging him, when Remus pulled her back and whispered soft words to her ear. "Just ignore him like I do. I don't even hear what he's saying half the time now. It's all a monotone buzzing."
Tonks cracked a smile and huffed. "Thanks Remus."
"If you are done here, I would like to ask you to leave."
"We're done. Thank you Severus," Remus sighed as he and Tonks exited the potions master's room. "Does the locator still show traces of him?"
"Yeah, he's still here in the dungeon," Tonks sighed. Without words to communicate, Tonks and Remus continued to search around the dungeon. It had been the same many nights before. They would go around the castle, looking for the lying coward who had betrayed Remus and caused Sirius to have to serve twelve wrongful years in Azkaban. Every night they'd let him slip through. Remus was beginning to think maybe they should resort to using muggle mouse traps, those sticky kinds especially.
Her face was freezing, the night was cold, and the air was still. Looking up from the very old and worn picture of her smiling family, Alexis remembered that this calm night was what her dad liked best. But then she remembered the silly man liked any kind of weather. When she was four, he was grinning during a thunderstorm, saying it was a beautiful day. Then she remembered her mum as well. Unlike her father, her mother was rather level-headed.
"I guess it's in our blood isn't it?" she asked softly, sitting under the great oak tree in the east courtyard. Where she sat, she could still see the bright moon and stars. It was odd that sitting there, she'd feel closer to them. "All Blacks are a bit wobbly," she smiled wanly.
Seventeen Years Ago
That night was a calm summer night, no different from ones before. Her parents and she had just returned to England after being away for nearly five years. The weather was warm outside. It was the beginning of summer after all. They were staying in a small cottage that had once belonged to her mother. It was a small and beautiful cottage her parents called Riverside Cottage. Situated right next to a river, during the day Alexis would escape to the riverbed and play with her cousin there, messing around like the little kids they were and just having fun.
It was late in the evening however, and Alexis was sitting upstairs in her room playing with a toy broom her cousin Tonks had just given her. Tonks was right beside her, poking at something she couldn't quite remember, but it had been something very breakable as the next moment, they heard a crash and whatever Tonks was messing with had fallen to the ground, breaking into about a million pieces.
"Bloody hell!" Tonks yelled, reacting naturally.
"Nymphadora, language!" Alexis heard Aunt Dromeda, Tonks' mother call from outside the hallway. "Don't curse in your Uncle Mark's house!"
Then Alexis saw Tonks grin broadly as Marcus Black, Alexis' father's laughter rang through the house. He had a barking laugh, loud and obnoxious, but still very warming. "Relax Dromeda," he told her aunt in the hallway. "They're just kids."
"Mark you are going to ruin my daughter. I'm surprised yours is so well behaved," Andromeda Tonks sighed and Alexis could just imagine seeing her aunt roll her eyes.
"All thanks to Michelle, otherwise, Lexi might be as loony as I am," Alexis heard her father laugh again and then her bedroom door opened. "Hey Tonksie in all honesty, let's not say 'bloody hell' ok?" the man smiled. He was a tall and darkly handsome man, his features a more masculine version of his three sisters, being the oldest out of the four children of Cygnus and Druella Black. His hair was jet black, the same shade as his daughter Alexis. Their smirks were identical. Even their eyes were the same dark brown, almost black, caring but mysterious.
"Ok Uncle Mark," Tonks sighed and stuck her tongue out at Alexis who was laughing.
"But…" Marcus Black suddenly spoke up. "I never said you can't scream 'you stupid wanker' instead," he smirked and winked at them before closing the door.
"Lexi I love your dad," Tonks grinned.
"Tell me about it," Alexis smiled. "Remember how we managed to sneak the dungbomb down that fat muggle kid's pants yesterday? My dad taught me the way to do it."
"Your dad's bloody brilliant," Tonks smiled and sighed.
"Not as smart as my mum though," Alexis replied. "Dad's witty, mum's book-smart. There's not a question she can't answer," the raven haired girl grinned.
"I wish my parents were like yours," Tonks stuck her tongue out and blew a lazy raspberry. "My dad's calm and cool, and all my mum's good at is yelling."
Alexis laughed. "Your parents are awesome, stop complaining. Though how come your dad doesn't come over here often? Andromeda and Sirius literally takes turns coming here every day. Do you know what's going on?" she asked, pulling her knees to her chest.
Tonks suddenly leaned in closer with a look of discovery on her face. "I don't know exactly," she whispered dramatically all of a sudden. "But I stayed up really late one night and heard my mum and dad talking to Sirius. They said your family needs protection?"
"Protection? From what?"
"I don't know. Sirius said you've been marked because Uncle Mark and Aunt Michelle openly defended Sirius and my mum, and even supported the muggleborn rights thing at the Ministry of Magic."
"The campaign? But it's a good thing that they're helping resolve the prejudice. What are they marked for that would need protection?"
Tonks shrugged. "I don't know. Sirius didn't talk loud enough."
"Nymphadora! It's time to go home sweetie!" Andromeda called and the door to Alexis' room opened again. In walked a tall woman with soft, mousy brown hair and warm, friendly features. "Good night Alexis, be safe," Andromeda smiled and waved to her niece as she took her daughter's hand.
"Find out for me," Alexis mouthed silently as she waved to Tonks.
"You got it cuz," Tonks replied silently as well with a grin and a thumbs up.
After Tonks left, her mother and father had tucked her to bed as well. It'd been the same several nights in, Andromeda and Tonks would visit for most of the day, and at night Sirius would come to spend time with her mum and dad. Alexis didn't understand why Andromeda and Sirius had to 'protect' them. She wondered what sort of danger they were in. Like Tonks said, all they were doing was helping resolve the prejudice towards muggleborn witches and wizards. There was nothing wrong in that at all.
In the middle of the night when the air was still and the night sang its song, Alexis was suddenly woken up by loud noises, voices, arguing loudly. She rolled out of bed lazily, having not being used to getting up in the middle of her sleep at all. She crept slowly towards her door, leaning against it as she tried to listen in on what was happening. Her parents never argue, so why were their loud voices arguing with one another.
"…you filthy blood traitor! Take back what you just said!" she heard an unfamiliar voice of a woman speak loudly.
"Bella what are you even doing here?" Alexis heard her father's voice sound, exasperated. "I'm doing what I'm doing because I feel that it's right. Now go back to your other Death Eater friends and take these two with you. Servants of Voldemort are not welcomed in this house," he father spoke loudly as well, but not screaming.
She listened closer and Alexis could hear her mother's hushed voice, speaking softly to her dad about something. Her mother spoke so soft she couldn't hear. After a while, the voices continued going back and forth. They were arguing about something, something involving servants, Dark Mark, traitors, and a man named Voldemort. Alexis wondered what kind of name was that. Why can't the man be named Bob or Tom or something?
"Enough talk Bella," she heard a rough and scratchy voice speak. "Don't give them any more chances. Do what you're sent here to do."
"Give them some time Antonin," another male voice spoke. This voice was low and dry, sounding almost monotone with slight indifference. "Bella here is giving her pureblooded family a second chance. Don't rush her."
"We don't need any bloody chances!" Alexis heard her father scream and suddenly, some loud noises were heard again, bangs, sounding like gunshot and broken furniture.
"Get out!" Alexis heard her mother hiss and immediately Alexis swung the door open and ran downstairs. She had no idea what in the world was going on, but she knew by the sound of her parents' voice that it wasn't going to be good.
"Michelle!" her dad yelled and Alexis stumbled in the middle of the second landing hallway. She groaned and pushed herself back up again, not even bothering to rub her bruised leg. "So this was what you're sent to do," she heard her father laugh. "Then you might as well finish it!" he shrieked.
"Marcus…" the woman who was supposedly named Bella spoke. "Avada Kedavra!"
She got to the stairs and stumbled down, falling down half the steps in a way she was sure even clumsy Tonks couldn't pull off, and Alexis ended up skipping the last three steps, landing on her knees again as she turned and sprinted into the living room. There she made it just in time to see her father fall to the ground beside her mother, the light, the life leaving his eyes. Her heart was racing and when she saw both her parents on the ground, lifeless and in an eternal slumber that they'll never wake up from, anger and rage boiled inside her, melding in with the already overflowing confusion. She wanted to know what the hell was going on, why her parents were killed, and who this woman named Bella was.
"You bitch!" Alexis shrieked, tears filling her eyes as she spotted the only woman standing there. She was standing beside two masked men, all dressed in long black robes. The woman was tall with thick black curly hair. Her facial features were shockingly close to Andromeda Tonks' and Alexis had to take a second look to make sure it wasn't her beloved aunt who stood there. This woman was different however, there was an aura of fear and command to her, and she had very dark, bagged eyes and a strong, strong jaw. "You killed them! Why did you kill them?" Alexis continued to ball in utter confusion and rage. She couldn't even control what she was doing. All she knew was that she suddenly picked up her father's wand, a long, black wand with silver etchings on the handle that later would become hers in years to come. She pointed the wand at the woman in defense. She only planned on possibly stabbing the woman with it. After all, she didn't know any spells. But suddenly, from the tip of the wand a jet of red light suddenly shot out from it, a spell she didn't know and possibly casted unconsciously. The spell surprised the woman who now just realized there was a little girl in the room. Alexis watched in surprise as the woman suddenly doubled over in pain, shrieking, but only for an instant. A darker side of Alexis wished the pain had lasted longer for the woman who'd just killed her parents. Alexis stood there, facing the three people, shaking in fear.
"That little brat," a man to Bella's right spat, the man with the rough, scratchy voice.
"Hold it Dolohov," the man with a low and dry monotone voice spoke up.
"Who are you?" the woman named Bella asked with confusion.
Alexis looked in the eyes of that woman, her hands trembling as her body shook with rage. She hated being so little, so helpless. She didn't dare take another glimpse at her parents, lying dead beside her. Her mother's exotic and beautiful face and her father's darkly handsome but kind and caring face were now empty looks of death. Alexis stared at the woman, the one named Bella. The woman had a slight look of warmth and regret in her eyes, hiding deep behind that dark look of evil and cruelty.
"Alexis Black," Alexis spitted through clenched teeth.
"She's Marcus' daughter," the woman suddenly spoke in a softer, almost teary tone.
"Bella let's go," the man with the low and dry voice spoke.
"They had a daughter," the woman spoke again softly, about to take a step forward before she was suddenly yanked back by the one man on her left with a mask hiding his face.
"Control yourself," the man on her left spoke but the woman wouldn't listen.
She took another step forward and Alexis backed away in fear and anger. She wished the wand would fire another spell, but looking into the woman named Bella's eyes, Alexis swore she saw a trace of regret, a trace of pain and sadness, hidden very deeply behind that look of evil and cruelty. She tightened her jaw and glared at the woman with mixed emotions.
"Look at me," the man spoke in a calm, cold and dry voice with underlying emotions.
Bella finally turned to him. "They had a daughter I never knew about."
"The Dark Lord doesn't know about this brat," the other man spoke to her in a rough voice. "Let's kill her too, eliminate the roots," he spat as Alexis saw him draw his wand.
Suddenly, before that masked man could do anything, they all suddenly heard the sound of a fire starting abruptly, sounding like a small gust of wind. Her chimney suddenly exploded in a sea of green flames and Alexis turned around to see the face of Sirius Black, grabbing another handful of floo powder as he reached out with his other hand and grabbed her. She'd never seen someone throw floo powder faster in her entire life. One minute she saw the group of three people dressed in black, two masked men and a woman who killed her parents, and the next minute she was standing in Andromeda Tonks' living room, surrounded by her small, indirect family, all with tears and worry in their eyes.
"That was close," Sirius breathed, falling out of the chimney with ash all over him.
"Mark and Michelle?" Andromeda asked barely above a whisper.
Sirius shook his head and it was that moment of realization that Alexis wanted to drop to her knees and scream. But she couldn't. She watched as Andromeda fell down into her threadbare armchair, Ted coming up behind her with Tonks in his hand as he patted his wife's shoulder. Alexis saw tears leave Andromeda's eyes, one of the few times she saw the woman cry.
"Sirius…who's Bella?" Alexis managed to ask barely above a whisper.
The look on Andromeda and Sirius' faces suddenly grew darker, grimmer, depressed. Sirius didn't answer her. Instead he closed his eyes and hugged her tightly, something she needed at the moment. It was Andromeda who spoke the harsh and awful truth.
"Bella…was my sister…your father's little sister as well," the woman spoke and Alexis finally realized why the two women looked so similar "Her name is Bellatrix Lestrange."
Her eyes were blurry and she looked away from the picture, forcing herself to not think any more as she blinked back the tears. It was then that she truly felt cold and alone. The memories of that night are one that she would remember, every single detail, up until the day she died. She would never forget that look in Bellatrix's eyes. Once, Alexis had thought that the evil, sadistic witch actually had a sense of regret. She once thought that there had been more to the story, why Bellatrix suddenly seemed so pained when she realized that Marcus and Michelle Black had a daughter, her niece. But from what she and the public knew, Bellatrix was Voldemort's most loyal servant, insane, sadistic, and cruel. Alexis pulled tighter on her thin, navy blue khaki jacket as she huffed. She could see her own breath and she could feel that even her insides were growing cold. After a while, she glanced back at the picture.
"Happy birthday dad. I miss you both," she sighed, much like her own mother.
Suddenly, she felt someone's robes over her, a warm and large winter cloak. She turned to see the innocent, grinning face of George Weasley and his comforting hazel brown eyes. "You've got to be mad sitting out here in the cold," George smiled, sitting down beside her in only a jumper, trousers, and uniform vest. "It's bloody freezing."
"Sorry, you must be very cold," she replied, handing him his cloak.
"No, no," he replied. "Alright we'll share it," George smiled, wrapping the cloak around them both as his shoulder rubbed against hers and shared their warmth. "You know Lexi you have a knack for randomly disappearing. Marrick's all over the castle looking for you but I knew you'd be here, under this tree."
She smiled at him. "I guess I'd better find a new hiding place."
"I'll always find you," George winked. "You eyes are red, were you crying?"
"No," she lied. "Do I have the pleasure of talking to a sentimental George Weasley tonight?" she tried to smile, wondering how he will always find her.
"I guess you do. Now please tell me what's wrong."
For some reason she always felt comfortable around George Weasley. Maybe it was because of his kind and very carefree nature that eased her, just like Tonks and Sirius. "Well nothing's wrong really," she sighed. "It's my dad's birthday. I just miss him, and my mum."
George's face showed her warmth and compassion as he placed a comforting arm on her shoulder. "I'll never understand you," he admitted, unlike the others who try to say they do. "But I know what it feels like to be afraid to show others your true feelings. Fred and I, we're just like everyone else. We worry. We stress. We're afraid. I know how it feels to hide everything behind a grin, a smirk," he told her. "But sometimes, it's ok to admit your feelings. You shouldn't be alone while missing your parents like this. You should be with your friends and family, to remind you you're not alone. I've got Fred. You've got Tonks. And you've got me as well."
She managed a wan smile. "Thank you George."
"Now come on. Reckon some mischief would make you laugh again. Want to trick Filch into eating some puking pastilles?" he grinned.
Alexis remembered puking pastilles as one of Fred and George's brilliant inventions that causes one to vomit and they were rather amusing. She chuckled softly and managed to grin. "Goodbye sentimental George. But yes, let's wreak havoc."
He grinned as they stood up from under the tree. George was quiet for a moment, mesmerized by her smile. He cleared his throat subtly, forcing himself to turn away from her entrancing dark eyes. Alexis swore she saw him blush for a moment, but dismissed it as the cold making his cheeks pink. "And happy birthday to Lexi's dad."
She giggled at his carefree nature.
"We better go before Marrick flips the whole school upside down looking for you," he grinned brilliantly. "He's a very worried bloke but good to have around. Though I reckon, it would be rather amusing if the whole school was upside down," George rambled innocently as Lexi continued to giggle. "Yes, let's hide from Marrick a little longer then."
They've been looking for hours. It was so late that Tonks doesn't even know what the time was anymore. All she knew was that the dungeon was dark and cold. No wonder Severus Snape was the dreariest man alive. He lived in the dungeon for most of the year. Remus' brown hair was disheveled as he followed Tonks, trying to catch a rat all night. They crawled out from under a table in the potions classroom and Remus heaved a heavy sigh looking up at her.
"Well we've looked everywhere. Reckon we should head back now. It's late and you're tired," he spoke, sighing heavily.
"I guess," Tonks replied, disappointed.
"We'll find him Tonks. Even Dumbledore helped us by sealing off Hogwarts."
"I just hope we'll find him soon," she spoke as they began to head out of the classroom. When she opened the door, she suddenly saw Rookwood, his wand lighting up his long face as he was patrolling the school. Tonks turned back and closed the door immediately. Rookwood wasn't under the Ghost necklace because Moody took them all, and neither was she. "Bloody hell," she breathed, rushing around the room, looking for another way out.
"Nymphadora, what's wrong?"
"Damn. There are no other ways out of here."
"Not that I know of, no," Remus replied. "Tonks, what's wrong?" he asked again.
"It's Rookwood, he's patrolling," she replied quickly. "I'll be in big trouble. It's not my shift and if Moody finds out I'm roaming when I'm not supposed to, the paranoid old codger's going to badger me with questions. But there's only one way out and Rookwood's coming."
Remus and Tonks both ran around the potions classroom, trying to find some place out or to hide, all while making as little noise as possible. They paused for a moment and in the dead of night they could hear Rookwood's wary footsteps as he came closer to the dark classroom. They searched again as Tonks shoved away her locator, out of sight. She turned back to Remus, walking over to him. Suddenly, Tonks' clumsiness got the better of her at that second and she tripped. Immediately, despite his weariness, Remus jumped forward to catch her.
Tired and worn by his pre-moon symptoms, Remus lost his footing and fell as she landed on top of him. "Well at least I broke your fall," Remus smiled.
"Sorry Remus," she sighed. "I swear my clumsiness will be the death of me."
Tonks was flustered as she laid in an awkward position on top of Remus. Her heart, she could feel it beating very fast, racing faster and faster. Tonks could feel Remus' heartbeat as well and it surprised her when his heart was racing just as fast as hers. Their cheeks were blushing mad and Tonks felt her body heat rise. Remus' eyes were looking into hers and soon Tonks got herself lost in his. Their eyes were locked and they were still in that awkward position with Tonks lying on top of him.
They heard the door open and flustered, Tonks pushed herself up quickly, her face completely flushed and surprised. Remus had the same expression on his face, still blushing mad as they stared back at Augustus Rookwood who wore a very amused look on his face.
"Um…nothing's going on," Tonks spoke, searching for an excuse to give if Rookwood decided to question why she and Professor Lupin were sneaking around at night.
"I can see that," the Unspeakable replied, looking like he was struggling not to laugh. "Well I'll leave you and Professor Lupin alone. Don't make too much of a mess, you are in a school classroom you know." After he spoke, he let out a laugh as he turned around and even closed the door for them, no further questions asked.
"What does he mean?" Tonks asked innocently and turned to Remus. She had expected to be badgered with questions on why she was roaming when it wasn't her shift. She had expected Rookwood to tell her he'll be reporting her to Mad-Eye. What she hadn't expected was for him to laugh and turn around without any questions, even closing the door for them.
"It appears…that he thinks we were up to something…naughty…" Remus sighed.
"Something naughty? What in Merlin…" Tonks blushed intensely.
They sat in awkward silence for a long while, Remus and Tonks trying to calm themselves down as they shyly avoided each other's eyes. Tonks had never felt so odd around Remus, but her heart was still racing just as fast as the moment before. Tonks briefly wondered if she felt genuine love with Remus Lupin but quickly dismissed it as a silly crush. Remus Lupin would never like someone like her.
"Um…I think we should be going now," Remus spoke, his cheeks still flushed.
"Y…yeah," Tonks nodded, stumbling back onto her feet.
Both were headed to the third floor, Remus' office being on that floor and Tonks' sleeping area was there as well. For a moment they walked in total silence. When they reached the second floor, Tonks noticed Remus suddenly stop beside the large, open window, his eyes gazing at the pale, silver moon that was nearing full.
"You can go on without me. I reckon you're tired."
"No it's fine, I want to stay for a little bit longer," Tonks replied softly.
Standing beside Remus, she looked up at the moon longingly. Tonks wondered how Remus usually spent the full moon, when she wasn't there. Seeing him transform, she knew that every month he had to endure such agonizing pain.
"The moon isn't as lonely as I remembered it to be," Remus suddenly spoke beside her.
"The full moon is in a few days."
"Yes. But this month, I don't feel as alone as before," he smiled wanly.
"Because of Sirius?" Tonks asked, standing close by him.
"Well yes, because of Sirius. But because of you as well. You're my friend Nymphadora, thank you. Oh and Alexis. She doesn't judge or fear me. I am forever grateful to all of you."
"You won't be alone anymore Remus. You'll always have us."
"Just like how I had the Marauders," he spoke, thinking about Sirius, James, and Peter.
"Yes. But none of us will leave you, or betray you," Tonks promised him, placing a hand on his shoulder as they stood there, gazing at the moon and the stars in the sky.
"It's snowing," Remus smiled as soft, white snow began to fall from the heavens. "It snowed much earlier than last year."
"You better bring a blanket for this month's moon then," Tonks sighed, looking at him with soft, gentle eyes. "It was already freezing last month. Maybe two blankets would work," she smiled. Standing there before him, Tonks felt a surge of emotions. She didn't know why she felt that way or why she felt so much, she just did. Tonks had deemed her feelings as a silly crush, but maybe it was a bit more than that.
"Thank you Nymphadora," he smiled.
There was something about the way he said her name that made her like it. His voice was soft and gentle. Being around him made her warmer, happier. She soon was acting on her emotions as Tonks took slow and small steps towards Remus. He stood still, quietly looking at her. Tonks stood on her tiptoes as she held his face gently with one hand. Her emotions were on free reigns as Tonks leaned in and placed a very soft, very gentle kiss on his cheeks. Much to her delight, Remus didn't resist.
"Remus, be safe. I'll come see you in the morning after the moon. There will be a Quidditch match that day so I'd watch from the window. Good night Remus." Tonks' voice was soft and comforting. She turned and walked away before Remus could reply.
"Thank you…Nymphadora Tonks…" he spoke softly to himself, placing his fingers on the spot where she'd just kiss him on his cheek.
As he watched her leave, there was a strong part of him wanting to run after her and hold her back. A very strong part of him wanted to kiss her lips. But Remus knew he should. He knew a woman that brilliant, a woman that wonder, deserved someone so much better. He only wished that he could be that someone. But he was still grateful. With her appearance in his life, he suddenly saw light and felt hopeful again. The vibrant bubblegum pink lit up his dreary world and her contagious smile made him smile as well. When Nymphadora Tonks showed up in his life, things became odd, thinks changed, and things got better. Remus sighed as Tonks disappeared up the stairs, stumbling a slight bit. Remus Lupin had never been in love, but he knew that the feelings he had for Tonks was love. He wasn't in danger of falling for Nymphadora Tonks. He'd already fallen.