Author's Note
I just had to say that I finally got to watch the deleted scenes and really did wonder why the director deleted Remus and Tonks' scene :( It explained so much and would have helped us understand their love story in the films better! And when Tonks ran up to Remus and then jumped and hugged him, that just made me cry and they were so sweet! Ok done ranting...actually I'm not but done for now haha. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Chapter 17 – No More Distance Between Us
Through all the rush and madness of worry, Tonks had forgotten that on that particular night, it was Christmas. The snow continued to fall outside, unaware that there was an innocent man, suffering, unfairly, on such a supposedly beautiful night. During the wait, Tonks had enough time to remember how she'd failed to show up to her mother's Christmas dinner. Sadly, she didn't even have time to drop by and explain. She couldn't bear to leave Remus' side, not when he was in such a state. Though he never knew of her feelings for him and though she thought that he will never feel the same for her, she still stayed there, by his side. She hid under the excuse of friendship to hold his hands and watch his uneven breaths, praying for the first time in her life that they would never stop.
Remus was the occupant of the hospital bed Tonks sat at. His hand was in hers while he slept under a drug induced slumber. Bandages took the place of a shirt, small traces of blood still seeping through several crucial wounds. His scar crossed face had stopped bleeding luckily, but the deep, open gashes still made it look so painful. Looking at Remus, his frail and injured body under the two thin hospital blankets, he looked so fragile. Tonks had never seen him so vulnerable. Despite her being an auror, she'd never seen anyone so vulnerable in her entire life. She just wanted to lie beside him and hold him tightly in her arms, afraid that when the sun rose the next morning, she wouldn't have the chance to anymore.
Poppy Pomfrey finally stopped rushing around. She settled standing at the foot of Remus' bed, looking at him with worried eyes. Tonks knew she'd grown accustomed to seeing him every month for a good deal of his life, but never had she seen him so battered. Minerva McGonagall stood beside Dumbledore and Snape, all looking at Remus as well. Alexis had just returned with Moody and Silvia as Professor Dumbledore had called for them.
"Oh my god," Silvia gasped once she recognized the man lying on the bed. She covered her gaping mouth with her hands and then walked over and placed one comforting hand on Tonks' shoulder. "Will Remus…?"
"I don't know," Tonks replied softly. Her eyes were sad. Her hair was a dark and soft pink and her presence lacked its usual enthusiasm. Tonks turned and faced the others, her eyes meeting her cousin's first and lingered there a moment for comfort. "What exactly happened to him?" Tonks asked, her heart swelling a bit when she heard his breath hitch.
"Severus brewed the antidote for wolfsbane poisoning in time," Poppy spoke first. "However, that meant it removed all traces of wolfsbane from his body…and so the potion Remus took will not be effective."
"How will he transform in this condition?" Minerva asked.
"Not to mention that Lupin will be a completely uncontrollable werewolf when the moon rises," Snape added dryly though there were no traces of sneering in his tone and Tonks thanked him for that. "And in his current condition…" he looked to Dumbledore.
"This full moon could kill him," the headmaster spoke, his face showing worry.
Tonks flinched, but kept her overall fears hidden, for now. "How did this happen?"
"When I brewed the potion, I was sure to add just the right amount of wolfsbane. In the wolfsbane potion, too little wolfsbane and it will render the concoction useless. Too much wolfsbane and it will poison the werewolf. Though I dislike Lupin, it wasn't my intention to poison him," Snape defended. Tonks was in no mood to argue. She didn't know how there came to be too much wolfsbane in the potion, she just knew that now Remus was in pain and she wanted to do whatever she could to take it away.
"Severus," Alexis' voice spoke up softly as she stepped up from behind Silvia and Mad-Eye Moody. "Where do you usually keep your concoction of wolfsbane when you brew it?"
"In my office," he replied. "I could never keep it in the classroom."
"Alexis where are you going at?" Moody asked.
"I think I know who was responsible for poisoning Remus," she nodded, walking up to Tonks and whispering a name into her ear. "Peter Pettigrew." Alexis' voice was soft enough that even through the dense silence in the room, no one else could hear but Tonks.
Tonks' knuckles tightened and turned white as she tried to hold back all her anger. Of course it was that lying little rat. They'd seen him hanging around Snape's office a while ago. She should have seen it before. If she saw it earlier, Remus wouldn't have to be in so much pain now. Tonks squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to swallow down the desire to flip the whole school upside-down, find that rat, and just squeeze the life out of him.
"Who is it?" Silvia asked Lexi, turning her around.
As she tried to calm herself down, she could literally hear her cousin swallow a very hard lump in her throat. "We kept seeing that rat sneaking around Snape's office," she spoke. Mad-Eye knew exactly what she meant, but he didn't know the entire truth.
"Black," Moody growled, thinking that Sirius' animagus form was a rat, the one he'd let slip right through his hands. "That little bastard…poisoning his own friend."
"Y…yeah," Alexis replied, her body tensing. They didn't want to place blame on Sirius, but if they told the others it was Pettigrew, everything they worked to hide would be brought out into the open and they won't be of any help to Sirius if Mad-Eye began suspecting again.
"Alastor," Dumbledore finally spoke again. "I'm afraid you'll have to set the capture of Sirius Black aside for now. Seeing that Remus' transformation is fast approaching and we will have a full grown, uncontrolled werewolf on our hands, we should worry about that first."
Moody nodded, pacing up beside Tonks. "We'll have to keep watch over him."
"I suggest using the Shrieking Shack. In all his Hogwarts years, Remus had utilized the Shrieking Shack for all his transformations," Dumbledore suggested.
"We still need someone there to watch over him to make sure he's still alive Albus," Minerva spoke up and Tonks could see the woman was also genuinely worried for Remus.
At that moment, Tonks and Alexis immediately turned to each other. They both knew that at the time, Sirius was hiding out in the Shrieking Shack. If someone else other than them goes in there, his safety and freedom would be put at risk. They had to use someplace else other than the shack, or somehow convince Mad-Eye that they alone could handle Remus, even as a full grown werewolf without wolfsbane. Not only did Tonks have to worry about Remus' safety and keeping him alive throughout the transformation, she also had to worry about keeping Sirius safe while in hiding, at least until they could catch Pettigrew. Now Tonks had one more reason for wanting to murder the rat. She knew that Alexis too was tempted to simply hand the rat off to Sirius and allow him to finally commit the murder he was charged for.
"We can't use the shack," Tonks spoke up, unable to stop herself.
Luckily, Alexis came in with a reason to prevent Moody's paranoia from targeting them yet again. "The Shrieking Shack is too run down. We'll need a very strong confinement spell to be able to keep a werewolf at bay," she spoke, quickly making something up.
"I'll send for a team of aurors there to guard him. If Lupin makes any dangerous moves, we'll be able to stop him. And aurors are good with healing spells so we'll be able to keep him alive during the transformation."
She knew Mad-Eye only meant good, but having a team of aurors there was worse than having them there. "He's not a monster Mad-Eye," Tonks spoke to him a little too shortly and briskly. "We don't need to call for a team of aurors. Lexi and I could handle him."
"Alexis is not an auror Nymphadora," Moody snapped. "You have to be reasonable. If he gets loose, he could become a danger to us all. Though it is the holidays, there are still students here at the castle and residents in Hogsmeade."
Tonks didn't even feel the anger or need to correct him for using her first name. She figured if she raised her voice, she'd interrupt Remus' much needed sleep. "Trust us," she replied through worried, clenched, teeth. "Lexi and I can control him. I'll cast the confinement charms and protection charms around the Shrieking Shack."
"While we're there, Tonks can make sure that Remus is alive. I'll keep us safe by casting another confinement charm inside the shack," Alexis spoke up.
"It's still too risky," Moody grunted.
"But Alastor." That time, it was Silvia who spoke up. "Think about it. The ministry simply wouldn't allow us to call back an entire team of aurors just to keep a…werewolf," she swallowed, having to call her old schoolmate that name. "…at bay. And besides, I trust both Tonks and Alexis."
"They are young," Moody snapped. "What if something goes wrong? Nymphadora is reckless and prone to danger while Alexis is lazy and untrained in proper defensive magic. They could get hurt." That was one of the few times Tonks could see that he openly showed worry for them. That held Tonks back from full on arguing with him.
"You have to trust Tonks. Yes she's reckless and clumsy and prone to danger, but she knows what she's doing and she will know what to do when the situation calls for it," Alexis defended her cousin in a low, convincing tone, hoping to change Mad-Eye's mind. She did so not only to assure Remus that he wasn't a monster, but also to protect Sirius. Having Mad-Eye meet Sirius right then when they have no solid evidence whatsoever, was not a good idea.
"And you've got to trust Lexi," Tonks spoke up. "She'd helped me through everything in the past and auror or not, this time is no different. She's brilliant and both of us will get through this, safely, and make sure that Remus is safe as well."
"Besides," Silvia sighed. "You told me yourself that we should never underestimate these two, especially when they're together. Alastor, Tonks is a graduated auror. Have some faith in her. And Alexis is an experienced Unspeakable. The Unspeakables know things we will never be able to figure out," she reminded the man.
"Albus?" Moody spoke, turning to the headmaster.
"I believe in Miss Tonks and Alexis' ability to not only keep Remus safe, but keep us all safe," he spoke with a soft twinkle in his eyes as he looked at everyone in the room.
"We'll use the Shrieking Shack then," Poppy Pomfrey nodded. "Severus, you should get the potions ready just in case," she spoke to Snape who nodded and quickly glided off without another word. Tonks had to thank Snape that night. She still saw traces of Remus' blood stained on his black robes, and the potions master hadn't complained at all.
"I'll go prepare," Alexis spoke up before anyone else could offer. "I'll get it ready…find a good room we could set Remus in. And I'll pack our bags to prepare for the one night." She took a breath and glanced towards Tonks. "It'll be snowing that night. Tonks, you'll be ok here watching Remus?" she asked softly.
Tonks nodded, watching as Mad-Eye and the others began leaving the room. Alexis lingered around the hospital wing for a little while longer, placing a comforting hand on Tonks' shoulder. Dumbledore was the last to leave and Tonks saw him wink at them right before he pulled the hospital doors shut. She usually thought deeper into the meaning behind the great wizard's winks, but at that moment, Tonks didn't have the heart to think about anything else besides Remus' safety and hope that he'll wake up soon.
"Over the next three days before the moon, I'll go and try to sneak out to tell Padfoot what's going on," Alexis spoke softly again so that only Tonks could hear.
She nodded. "We'll be there from before sunset till sunrise. Bring blankets and some food." Her eyes turned worriedly to Remus whose breath hitched again. "How will we make sure his condition doesn't worsen because of the transformation?"
"I don't know. We'll just have to hope for the best. When he's in wolf form, Padfoot will be able to tame him and keep him settled. We'll have to keep watch from a distance less he decided to attack us or something."
"You should go and get ready. It's morning already. We should also work out who will hold up the protection and confinement charms around the shack."
Alexis nodded and patted Tonks' shoulder again. "Padfoot has his wand. He'll be able to help. By the way Tonksie, happy Christmas." Her voice was soft, especially towards the end. That Christmas had been the most solemn and worrying Christmas Tonks had ever had.
"We missed mum's dinner."
"When we explain things to her she'll understand," Alexis reassured her. "She and you may argue a lot, but Andromeda is no fool. She'll understand everything." She patted Tonks' shoulder again before turning and leaving from the hospital doors. Before she left Alexis threw one last glance at the back of Tonks' head. Judging by the look on Tonks' face, Alexis knew that her little cousin must feel more than simple infatuation for Professor Lupin. It would only be a matter of time before either party decide to admit their feelings for one another. She'd spoken with Sirius about Remus and Tonks and they both knew that it would take some time before either party would allow themselves to be happy. Alexis just hope that it wouldn't be too long.
Faint, golden lights came in from the window as the rays of sunlight ricocheted off the snow white ground and onto the windows. Tonks was part awake and part asleep, her hand still clinging onto Remus'. Several times she could feel him stir, but she still knew he was fast asleep under a drug induced slumber. Madam Pomfrey had came in to check several times and said it would be more beneficial for him to sleep through it as he won't feel the pain as much. Tonks opened her eyes slowly.
Her mind snapped awake when she heard the soft opening of the hospital doors. Tonks was able to clearly picture her old mentor Mad-Eye Moody practically screaming constant vigilance in her face as she scrambled to morph her features to match her disguise of a thirteen year old Gryffindor. She gave a yawn and stretched, turning around to meet the three worried eyes of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Wotcher," Tonks yawned. "What are you three doing here?"
"The better question would be what you're doing here," Ron replied. "I thought you and Lexi said you two were headed for your parents' house last night. What are you doing in the hospital wing?" he asked.
"We saw Lexi running around all night. She's still running all over the place today, looking for Fred and George. What's wrong Tonks?" Harry asked.
Tonks was about to answer when she noticed Hermione's eyes fall onto the man lying on the bed. She knew she should pull her hand back from Remus', but she was laboring under the illusion that Remus' hand was subconsciously grasping onto hers as well. She could feel his grip tighten a bit around her small hand, even though he showed no sign of waking up.
"Is that…Tonks is that Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked worriedly.
She saw no point in lying to the kids. "Yeah," she nodded weakly.
"What happened to him?" Harry asked.
"Bloody hell," Ron breathed at the exact same time as Harry's question.
Tonks turned to look at him. His face was adorned with fresh red scars. Bandages replaced a shirt as his even and soft breath showed the only sign of life in him. He was so pale and he looked so broken. His breath would sometimes hitch but otherwise he seemed peaceful in his sleep. Whenever Tonks turned back to him, her eyes would linger on his chest and watch it rise up and down, secretly praying it to never stop.
"Tonks what happened?" Hermione asked in a softer voice.
"Someone's poisoned Professor Lupin," Tonks replied softly, unable to force her mind to think up a proper and unsuspecting excuse. She decided to go with the truth.
"Do you know who?" Hermione asked compassionately.
"I know who," Harry suddenly spoke up, looking at Tonks with dark eyes.
She was curios to find out who he would think. Her guess would be Snape. "Who?"
"Sirius Black," Harry replied, sighing as he looked at his professor.
Tonks felt her body tense. She already hated herself enough when she led Mad-Eye and the others to think that it was Sirius who poisoned him. She didn't want Harry to think that as well, especially when Sirius was Harry's godfather and Sirius never did anything wrong. Tonks balled her other hand up into a fist, her knuckles turning white as she tried to calm herself down.
"Why do you suppose it's him Harry?" Tonks asked, straining to stay calm.
"When Professor Lupin confiscated the Marauder's Map from me, he told me that the map, if fallen into the wrong hands could endanger me. In the hands of my enemy, it's a map to me. The only person I could think of who'd want to harm me would be Sirius Black. I think Sirius Black might want to get that map, and he poisoned Professor Lupin to get it."
Tonks nodded, forcing herself to take a breath and unclench her jaw. "Have you ever thought Harry, that it may not be Sirius Black who's your enemy?" Tonks suggested.
"If he's not my enemy then what is he?" Harry snapped at her which surprised Tonks. She'd completely forgotten how moody and rash teenagers can be. "He was my father's friend. And he betrayed them. He killed his other friend Peter Pettigrew. He told Voldemort where my parents were hiding. He's the reason they're dead. He was their friend!" Harry shouted.
Hermione immediately stood up to calm him down while Ron quietly placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. Tonks now entirely remembered how moody and rash teenagers could be. She also found out that to Harry, loyalty seemed to be of special importance as the young boy made great emphasis on how his father's own friend betrayed him. Tonks swallowed hard, forcing herself to sit calmly as the boy calmed himself too.
"Black's a homicidal raving lunatic," Ron spoke innocently.
"Sirius Black is not a homicidal raving lunatic," Tonks snapped a little too shortly.
"And I suppose that betraying your best friend and killing your other friend would make you a completely sane and misunderstood person?" Harry snapped back. Obviously he doesn't like Sirius, and Tonks hated to see that Harry hated his own godfather, even if he was never told the truth. She just wanted the boy to be quiet.
"Have you ever thought more about the case? That maybe Sirius Black had been wrongfully accused the entire time? All they found of Pettigrew was a finger, quite suspicious if you ask me." She was suddenly stopped when she heard someone's loud and deliberate throat clearing. They all turned their heads to the door to see Alexis standing there, Lexi White, sixth year Ravenclaw to the trio, Alexis Black, twenty-two year-old Unspeakable to Tonks.
Lexi walked in as the doors closed behind her. She shot Tonks a very dark look, reminding her not to say anymore, knowing her clumsy tongue. "How's he doing?" she asked. Ashes marred her pretty face and Tonks could tell that her cousin had been through the floo lately. Alexis never liked flooing, because she could never land right and always came out with ash and soot on her face and clothes.
"He's stable," Tonks replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"Harry?" Alexis asked, giving the boy an almost professor like look. It was times like those that Tonks admitted Alexis really was older and more mature than her.
Harry shook his head and Alexis sat back, deciding it was best not to press any further for the time being. Harry dropped down in the empty hospital bed beside Remus, his eyes looking at Tonks with a mixture of expressions. Tonks saw an apologetic look in his soft green eyes, but she also saw a look of bemusement as well. She didn't blame him however. Looking back at it, Tonks realized that to Harry, she'd just defended Sirius Black, a convicted murderer.
"Lexi, you're here to see Professor Lupin too?" Hermione asked.
"Yes and it's not Sirius Black. It's someone else…but I don't know who so no further probing," she told the threesome, stopping any further questions from them.
"Lexi where were you?" Tonks asked, remaining vague but still getting her point across.
"I went to find Fred and George and am still waiting for them to return from Hogsmeade. I've asked them to pick up a few things for me," Alexis replied. "And I had to help Snape prepare some of the potions. Madam Pomfrey found me in the halls and asked me to help," she spoke, slightly gesturing to her ash marred face which was the results of potion brewing. Lexi knew Tonks had mistaken it as a sign of flooing. "I didn't get a chance to visit your mum though. I'd expect a howler coming from her soon," she spoke softly and sighed.
"What are you talking about? Professor White is in her office like normal," Harry spoke.
Tonks had nearly forgotten that in her thirteen year-old disguise, Silvia White was to play her mother. She gave Alexis a reminding glance, surprised that her usually mindful cousin had forgotten that little fact. "Yeah, we kind of aren't speaking because of an argument," Tonks replied, quickly coming up with another lie.
"What will happen to the professor?" Hermione asked suddenly. "Will he recover by the end of the month?" She turned from Tonks to Lexi and back to Tonks, hoping for an answer.
"We're not really sure. He's stable for now," Tonks replied.
"What will happen to him if he doesn't recover in time?" Hermione continued to ask.
"We don't know," Tonks replied sadly. "We're just hoping for the best."
"Can we stay with you and Professor Lupin for a moment?" asked Harry.
Tonks needed to speak with Alexis, talking with her cousin about things the kids shouldn't hear about. She opened her mouth and was about to refuse the kids' offer, but Lexi had already beaten her to it and with a completely different answer.
"Of course you may," Alexis replied softly with a fleeting smile lighting up her face.
Ron and Hermione joined Harry, sitting down in the empty bed on the other side of Remus. Tonks didn't know about Harry or Ron, but she could see that other than simply worrying about her favorite professor, Hermione had something else on her mind as well. Keeping her constant vigilance up, Tonks remembered that the brilliant young witch didn't simply ask when he would recover like any other students would. Instead, Hermione asked if Remus would recover by the end of the month. The full moon was at the end of the month, on the twenty-eighth. She wondered if Hermione could have figured it out. Tonks soon dismissed the thoughts, thinking to herself that she was probably just thinking too much.
"Don't respond," Tonks suddenly heard Alexis' voice inside her head. She couldn't help it when her head snapped up at her cousin, wide-eyed.
Tonks saw that Lexi was seated in the hospital chair beside Tonks, her wand out and in her hand while she kept it hidden from the kids at an angel she knew they couldn't see. "Lexi did you say something?" Tonks asked, afraid she was losing her mind. Lexi shook her head.
"It's Legilimency Tonks. Don't show any response. I know it's odd and you think you're going insane, but it's the only way I can think of to communicate with you in front of the kids without seeming suspicious."
"And you can hear what I'm thinking?" Tonks questioned, wondering more about the art.
"That's the idea cuz. Now I went and asked Fred and George to go to Hogsmeade and pick up some things for me to prepare for the night at the Shrieking Shack. I got some food for Sirius as well. George has been the one helping me pick them up lately from the Three Broomsticks. During that time, I ran and met with Sirius. He said he'd been snooping around the grounds at night while everyone's asleep and he's certain that Pettigrew is somewhere in the grounds. It could be possible that the little rat finally realized he could escape through the Shrieking Shack and is trying to find the right time to get there."
"Get there?" Tonks thought. "Why does he have to wait for the right time?"
"Sirius told me that Pettigrew is downright daft. He probably thought that Dumbledore warded off the shack and will only open it on the night of the full moon for Remus. So he's probably waiting until the full moon to escape through that tunnel from the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack. Sirius said he's always been afraid of Remus on the full moon, even if he turned into a rat and Remus won't hurt him. So now we know a reason why Pettigrew would want to poison Remus. He knew Dumbledore would leave the tunnel leading to the shack open for Remus. And with Remus injured, he won't be able to hurt him while he escapes."
Tonks could feel her muscles tense as she clenched her jaw and balled her hand into a fist. "That dirty little coward. He'd even poison his own friend. First he used Sirius as a scapegoat, and now he harms Remus, just so he can escape without having the risk of facing a completely tamed werewolf. If I ever see him, I'm going to break that rat in two."
Alexis subtly cleared her throat again and Tonks looked up. She realized that through her discussion with Alexis, her hair had turned to a fiery shade of flaming red, the same color it always turned when she was really, really angry. Tonks huffed and forced her hair to morph back to bubblegum pink. Hermione looked at her oddly. The witch's eyes had a mix of worry and bemusement mixed in, but Tonks didn't want to question anymore. Soon Harry and Hermione's looks all had a mixture of bemusement in their gaze.
"Do you think Mad-Eye suspects anything? He didn't seem too willing to let us and Remus go to the Shrieking Shack by ourselves," Tonks thought after her hair changed back.
"I don't think he ever stopped suspecting us. He just doesn't have a reason to voice his suspicion yet, and I plan on keeping it that way until we can show him some solid proof. Now if only Snape would agree to help. Just Snape's word alone is somewhat of a start."
"I really doubt Snape would agree to help. He hates Sirius."
"But in case you've forgotten, Snape hates Remus too. Yet you saw it all last night, he helped Remus without so much as a sneer or a complaint."
"I saw it. Now I'm just hoping he'll let that human side of him think about helping Sirius. You're sure that as long as we've got Pettigrew and a statement from Snape, we're in the clear?"
"Yes. Because I checked back with all the records at the Ministry this morning. During the many trials after the First Wizarding War, I found information on him. At the trial of Igor Karkaroff, he listed Severus Snape as one of the Death Eaters in Voldemort's inner circle. Albus Dumbledore stood up and defended Snape himself, saying something like how Snape used to be a Death Eater but turned spy for us. It was proven that what Dumbledore said was true, that's why the Ministry never formally went after Snape about his Death Eater background."
"So now since it's confirmed that Severus Snape is a Death Eater, we just need him to tell the Ministry in the form of a statement everything he knew about Peter Pettigrew, and everything will fall into place? If so, can't we just talk to Mad-Eye about this?"
"You know the old codger better than I do. Do you think he'll listen to reasons?"
"He will. As long as we have enough reasons. He's a just man. If he's convinced Sirius is innocent, he'll do all that he can to help. Mad-Eye's just overly paranoid and he goes by the book from every word down to every letter, that's all. But maybe we'll have to show him Pettigrew first. Otherwise, he'd be quite irritated with us, knowing we've been tricking him."
"It all goes back to Pettigrew. We have to catch that little rat soon otherwise…"
"Lexi, Tonks!" Hermione called loudly, pulling Tonks and Alexis' attention to them. "Are you two ok? We've been calling your name for ten minutes."
"Oh sorry," Alexis managed a small smile. "Got lost in my own thoughts for a minute."
"What about you Tonks?" Hermione asked. "Are you ok? You look a bit peaky."
"I'm fine thanks," Tonks replied weakly.
"How long have you been here with Professor Lupin?" Harry asked, noticing that Tonks was holding onto Remus' hand. Hermione noticed as well and Tonks didn't know if Ron had seen or not. She wondered what the kids would be thinking.
"I've only been here for a little bit," Tonks lied. "But I hadn't gotten much sleep last night because Lexi kept waking me up with her Christmas cheer," she managed a warmer smile.
"Hey, you've got to celebrate," Alexis shrugged along with Tonks' act.
"We've been asked to stay here to keep an eye on Professor Lupin and alert an adult if something changes," Tonks continued to explain, hoping the kids would stop questioning. She was too tired and she didn't know how much longer she could keep her act up both physically and mentally. "Someone else should be coming in later after us." Tonks sighed inwardly when the threesome nodded, seeming to believe in what she told them.
Just as the snow had died, Alexis sat with her legs hanging out the open window on the large stone bridge of Hogwarts with her bag in her lap. She went through all its contents several times, planning and thinking. She thought of all the possibilities of what could happen, especially with a feral werewolf in close proximities of them. Alexis had checked the weather and knew it would be snowing that day. There was also a possibility that they'd have the chance to catch Pettigrew during the full moon as well.
"Evening!" the voices of Fred and George Weasley screamed in both her ears.
Alexis jumped slightly, nearly dropping her bag and wand off the ledge as she turned around and huffed at them, trying to seem threatening to their identical grins. Unfortunately, she quickly resolved under their grins and sighed. The red headed Weasley twins handed her a large white package she recognized to be normal to-go meals from the Three Broomsticks. She raised an eyebrow when she only got one package however.
"You're a little late. I expected you to be back an hour ago," she smirked slyly.
"Well we sort of got sidetracked along the way," George began nervously.
"But rest assured that nothing is out of order or wrong," Fred finished, his expression identical to George's and Lexi knew something was up.
"Didn't I ask you to visit Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipments and pick something up for me?" she asked carefully, smirking knowingly at them. They definitely messed something up.
"Yes about that…" George began.
"…Georgie here dropped your parcel and realized that we broke the chunk of morphing material you've ordered."
George nervously handed Alexis a white parcel that looked like it had been stepped on and dropped down several flight of stairs. She made a slight pout, feeling pity as she'd been hoping to receive that soon. The material would have been useful. Morphing material came in a chunk that looked like clay at default, but can be molded into anything at all, gold, titanium, and it will take the attributes of that kind of material, all with the tap of a wand. It was hard to come by and would have been useful to her as an Unspeakable who tends to tinker.
"Pity," she sighed, opening the box to see the clay had gone from a glistening white to a dull grey, a sign that it had been tampered with and messed up.
"Sorry, it was Fred's fault. He dropped it down a flight of stairs."
"But you said it was ok to set it on there!" Fred argued.
"You said…" George began.
"No you said…"
"Boys," Alexis laughed, preventing a fight to break out between the twins as they had already grabbed a hold of each other's collar. "It's fine. I'll just find another distributor who sells this," she managed a soft smile, carelessly tossing the parcel over the edge as it fell tumbling down to what seemed like a bottomless pit under the bridge.
"We're really sorry Lexi," Fred apologized.
"Wait!" George suddenly snapped his fingers and a grin appeared on his face. "Here take this," he smiled, handing her a leather bracelet he had around his wrist that she'd never noticed before. "It's made out of morphing material and I'm guessing you know what to do with it. I disguised it as a leather bracelet in case I need it for an emergency," he grinned and placed the dark brown leather bracelet in her hand.
"Really George it's fine," she spoke, about to hand it back.
Fred beckoned her to keep it however. "Keep it. It's our fault we ruined your order. And like Georgie said, save it for emergencies. We've placed a charm over it to easily clean and reset itself to a leather bracelet instead of clay, so hopefully it will help. Oh and it looks quite nice as a fashion accessory to. So please take it."
"Yeah, take it as our token of apology," George leaned in and smiled.
"No really, it's fine boys," she smiled and attempted to return it again.
"No really, take it," Fred grinned with finality. "And since George was the one responsible for ruining your order, it will be his present to you," he smirked.
Alexis saw that George was about to protest until Fred harshly elbowed him. She raised an eyebrow, amused by the two Weasley twins. "Well, I guess thank you then. And thanks for always picking up my orders for me when I can't leave the castle."
"It's fine. Though the food here is great we could always use some butterbeer and firewhiskey from the Three Broomsticks and some nice food there too," George smiled.
"Aren't you two a little young to be drinking firewhiskey?"
"Well aren't you?" Fred smirked.
"Are you going to tell on us?" George asked.
"Not if you don't tell anyone that I ask you two to pick up food for me," she smiled, knowing that if others heard that she kept ordering food from the Three Broomsticks, that news would get passed to Silvia a current teacher, and then to Mad-Eye. The ever so vigilant auror would badger her and Tonks with questions no doubt. She returned Fred and George's knowing grin with a mischievous smirk of her own, thanking the boys again for being so kind.
Finally when evening came around, the trio that was Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to leave so that Professor Lupin could rest without quiet chatter being heard. At first Hermione questioned Tonks why she'd stayed so long by his side when she claimed she was simply a student who in no way has an interest in their professor other than a feeling of admiration, but luckily Tonks had countered saying she was waiting for Lexi to return and take over the shift. She'd been telling so many lies lately that it became a daunting task for her to keep up with them. Tonks wished that they could just catch Pettigrew already and prove Sirius innocent so that she could go back to a normal life as an auror, if there's any normality in that.
The waxing gibbous moon was beginning to turn full, faster than Tonks had hoped to see. The moon was cold and pale as a corpse, hanging like a taunting light above her in the dark, pitch black sky. No stars were visible that night, and the lack of stars only lowered her already terrible mood. Tonks sighed and leaned back in her chair. She hadn't eaten anything that day, but she wasn't feeling hungry. Remus still hadn't woken up yet, and she was beginning to worry. His breath didn't hitch as much and his scars seem to be getting better and less red. Though she knew that it would only be a matter of time until the full moon forced his body to change from the man to fit that of the wolf, and all his wounds would renew again. She cringed, imagining what sort of excruciating pain he would be in. Her grip around his hand tightened.
"I don't know if you can hear me," she spoke softly, feeling bored. She hadn't spoken much all that day either. The kids did most of the talking when they were there and Tonks only spoke up when it became too hard for her to control her anger in defense of Sirius whenever Harry or Ron would slip and speak bad about him. She knew Hermione was growing suspicious, but the young witch was the least of her worries at the time. "Lexi went and told Padfoot what happened. He's really worried. He'll be the one accompanying you on the night of the full moon. I just hope nothing bad happens then," she sighed.
Gently, Tonks leaned in towards him, closing the distance between their faces. She placed a light kiss upon his lips, a kiss lighter than feathers. The warmth of his lips touched hers and Tonks wished that her feelings for him would be returned. However, just having him as a friend was enough for her. She didn't dare ask for so much.
Tonks closed her eyes and lingered on his lips for a moment. Then she sighed and reluctantly pulled away. She looked up at the sleeping Remus for a while. He'd never looked so helpless and vulnerable. She wished there was something she could do for him, anything at all to take the pain and misery away, but she thought and thought, and nothing came up. Tonks stroked his fingers, her own fingers laced and intertwined with his as her gaze travelled from his hands back up to his subtly handsome scar crossed face. Even in his sleep his aura of gentleness never faded and she could just imagine those soft and kind blue eyes hiding behind his eyelids.
"Oh Miss Tonks, pardon," Poppy Pomfrey's soft voice called to her.
"Poppy," Tonks attempted a smile but she was sure it came out as a grimace. She looked up to see the loving healer bustle in.
"At dinner two letters came for you from your mother I believe, one letter for you and one for Alexis. I had offered to take them to you but Professor Dumbledore said he'd give them to you himself."
Tonks nodded, suspecting the letters to be the howlers she was expecting to come from her mother. After all, they had skipped out on Christmas dinner with her mother and father, after disappearing for a supposedly confidential mission. Tonks' heart jumped in fear, wondering what her mother could have written in the howlers.
"Thank you Poppy. I'll ask Professor Dumbledore for them when I see him," she smiled.
"I would suggest you find him soon Miss Tonks," Poppy spoke worriedly, nodding. "I still have a few things to attend to. If you're tired I can have someone else sit beside Remus for you. You've been here all day and look, you haven't eaten a thing."
"I'm fine Poppy. Thank you. I'd like to stay here a little longer."
"If you wish," she nodded briskly but held a warm smile on her face as she bustled out.
After the healer left, Tonks felt movement in Remus. She immediately turned to see Remus' eyelids flutter and his hand stirred slightly in her grip. She held her breath for a few short moments as he began to wake. He cringed immediately as the waves of pain hit him. Madam Pomfrey had been right, saying it would be better for him if he stayed asleep. Remus' eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the faint light within the room. He heaved a painful breath, cringing again and his hand tightened around hers.
"Hello Nymphadora," Remus uttered weakly, his soft eyes turning to her.
"Wotcher Remus," she spoke, managing a wan smile as he awoke.
"You look tired. Are you unwell?" he asked softly with concern in his voice.
"I'm fine Remus," she assured him with a soft smile, less wan than before.
"Are you sure? Is something wrong?" Remus continued to ask with concern lacing through this soft and gentle voice.
At his constant questioning, Tonks couldn't help but crack a soft laugh. He was in pain, covered in open wounds and bandages, and yet he was worried about her. "Typical Remus," she thought, reminding herself of how selfless he was. "I'm perfectly fine Remus. It's you we've got to worry about," she replied, with a soft an angelic laugh. Remus cracked a smile, seeing the brilliance of her smile that was like a shining sun to him. He didn't know what time it was. He didn't know why he was in so much pain. But the pain numbed over when he laid eyes upon her smile. Remus glowed when he witnessed her hair brighten to a more brilliant shade of pink. There was something special, something indescribable about this woman that always seemed to make him feel better, no matter how terrible his condition.