Hello! One of the last chapters guys. :(

Please enjoy!

Walking Free

The Phoenix Calls

Remus smiled to himself as the warmth of the crisp winter sun glowed across his face, a biting breeze whistling through the branches of the naked trees that hung overhead. His wife was at his side, holding his hand as they made their way back home after Tonks' anomaly scan, a mid pregnancy scan that was done around eighteen to twenty weeks. When they had first suspected the pregnancy Tonks had been roughly two month along but she had reached her fourth month a few days ago and her stomach had begun to grow into a small bump, noticeable but small all the same.

They had left St. Mungo's with big grins on their faces as the Healer had been able to determine the sex of the baby and had also told the couple that there were no abnormalities with the foetus, suggesting that Remus' condition had not been passed on to his daughter. All the fears that Remus had held about having another baby had flown out the window and he was finally able to look forward to Teddy having a younger sibling.

The toddler in question was sat on his father's hip, his little feet knocking into Remus' side at every step. He was holding the small photo of the foetus, the tiny baby fidgeting and waving its arms around slightly before settling back down and turning away from the viewer. The magical photo would then restart and replay the scene. Teddy found this hilarious and let out a squawk of laughter each time the baby moved.

'I think he likes his sister.' Tonks smiled, reaching up to tickle her son under his chin.

'Hmm,' Remus agreed, 'for now at least.'

'What d'you mean by that?'

'Well, once the baby comes we'll both be busy looking after her and won't have as much time for Teddy. He'll very quickly become jealous.'

Tonks looked distraught and took the toddler from her husband and cuddled him closely.

'Mummy will always have time for her little angel.' she cooed. She squashed the child's face against her cheek lovingly but the boy looked a little surprised and scrunched up his features as his mother held him a little too tightly for comfort.

Wrapping an arm over her shoulders, Remus led her up the steps to their front door where he unlocked and the three shuffled through. Teddy was soon stumbling through to the living room where a box of his toys was kept, his father following with a smile. Tonks lingered in the hall as she removed her shoes with one hand, holding the photo of her baby in the other. She still couldn't believe that this was happening. She had longed for another baby for months but had never discussed the subject with her husband in fear of rejection. She knew of his fears, she too had been worried during both her pregnancies as to whether their children were healthy or not, but it hadn't reduced her need and longing for having children with Remus. She loved him with all her heart, had done for years, ever since she met the quiet, gentle wolf. He had always been kind to her, often showing a little more affection for her than any of the other Order members and she had found herself smitten with him. However, Tonks had never dreamed that one day her dream man would return her feelings and that they would be married not long after. And now she was carrying his second child? It seemed too good to be true.

She grinned like a fool as she kicked her wellington boot across the hall, shrugging as it splattered snow and dirt over the wall. Bringing the photo to her lips she placed a soft kiss over the baby before dashing upstairs in excitement to add it to her baby book.

'Don't run up the stairs, Tonks!' Remus called from the living room. 'You could fall and-'

Tonks rolled her eyes as he spoke but as she ran her foot got caught on the carpet and she tripped, falling to her knees. She gasped in shock and grabbed out for the banister as she fell, luckily stopping herself from landing on her protruding stomach. She held her breath for a moment, her arm shaking in surprise. Remus hurried towards her, placing his hands on her hips to turn her around. She allowed him to turn her and she sat on a step looking a little pale.

'I'm fine.' she assured him hurriedly.

'I told you to be careful.' Remus scolded but the fear in his eyes gave him away. He was more worried than angry. 'You could have hurt the baby.'

'I know, I'm sorry.' Tonks sighed and relaxed into the hug her husband lay on her. 'But in a month or so, I won't be able to run anywhere so I wouldn't worry.'

Remus laughed and released her, stroking her face then her bump, kissing her on the lips. 'Well until then, no more racing up the stairs. D'you hear me?'

'Yes sir!' Tonks saluted, back to her cheerful self. She then stood and continued up the stairs.

Remus shook his head in despair. His wife could be so clumsy at times it was unbelievable. When they had first met he had wondered how she had become apart of the Order. She seemed like a liability to him; always making mistakes, tripping over things, discussing secret matters in public loud enough for people across the street to hear. For a while she had annoyed him, only being nice to her so she wouldn't feel downhearted when she fouled up yet another mission, but as he got to know the young metamorphmagus he had realised that he was far too quick to judge. Nymphadora Tonks was a bright, educated, quick witted young witch who had excellent control of her metamorphing skills and proved very useful on numerous occasions. She was also beautiful. While she spent a lot of her time with the face of a pig or other farm yard animals, Remus had fallen for her wild hair that changed colour almost every minute, her slightly squashed, crooked nose and the way her lips curved over his teeth when she smiled. He had been embarrassed by his attraction to her, believing that no woman that young and wonderfully talented could possibly be interested in an old, battered wolf like himself.

After checking that Teddy was still absorbed in playing with his toys, Remus went to the kitchen to make some tea. He set the kettle to boil, preferring to make the beverage the muggle way as it gave a more satisfying taste than using magic. He was just pouring two mugs when Tonks came shuffling through and began riffling through the cupboards.

'What are you looking for?'

'Food.' she replied simply.

'I should have guessed.' he smirked, earning a glare from his wife.

'What's that supposed to mean?' she snapped, her mood suddenly changing for the third time since they had arrived home.

'Nothing…don't you just think it's a little early for lunch?' he asked as he glanced at his watch. 'It's only half eleven.'

Tonks seemed to ponder on the though for a moment, her hand rubbing her bulge as if it would provide an answer to the question. 'The baby doesn't think so.'

Remus laughed and passed her a mug of tea as he pulled a can of baked beans out of the cupboard. He then sat at the table and lost himself in the paper. He was reading a particularly interesting article on Troll rights when a familiar smell assaulted his nostrils. Taking a deeper breath to identify the smell Remus shot out of his seat and hurried across the room to the stove where Tonks was standing over the hob, peering into her saucepan of cold beans.

'I turned it on but they won't cook, Remy.' she said confused, her finger on her lip in thought.

Her husband leant passed her and quickly turned the knob, shutting off the gas that for the last few minutes had been pumping into his kitchen. 'What are you doing?!' he cried out.

Tonks appeared shocked at his outburst. 'Cooking beans…'

'More like killing us!'

Tonks stared up at him, he eyes wide and shining. She then began to cry, bucket loads of tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. 'I- I I I- I d-don't under-understand…wh- what I did wrong!'

Remus softened and cast cleaning charm on her face, the messy tears disappearing instantly but her eyes were still red. 'You turned on the gas but you didn't ignite it.'

'Is that bad?'

Remus laughed through his nose. 'Yes, it is. But why didn't you just use magic to light the stove if you don't know how to use it?'

She scrunched up her face and rubbed it with her hand. 'It makes me tired, using magic.' Remus didn't seem to understand. 'I'm already tired from lugging this around,' she pointed to her stomach, 'so it doesn't help that using my wand practically drains me of the energy I have left. So I don't bother.'

Remus was suddenly concerned and led his wife to a chair. 'You didn't have this problem with Teddy, did you?'

She shook her head and sipped on her tea. 'Not really. Of course I got tired but not this early on in the pregnancy. And I don't really recall having issues with my magic either.' She shrugged the matter off until she noticed the look of fear in her husband's eyes. 'Oh honey,' she stood and slipped onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. 'I'll be okay. I'm pretty sure it's just to do with stress. All I can think about these days is the war and Harry. It's making me nervous a lot of the time and I'm sure that's not helping with my already restless nights.' Remus peered up at her, his eyes wide and damp. Tonks smiled at him and kissed him softly on the lips.

'I love you Remus Lupin.'

'I love you too.' his voice was muffled by her jumper as he buried his head in her warmth. 'But if you feel even the slightest bit ill,' he said sternly as he pulled away. 'you let me know right away.'

'Yes sir.' Tonks said, saluting him again. They cuddled a little longer at the table until Teddy came tumbling in, whining and protesting loudly about being ignored for so long. Tonks shuffled off Remus' lap after a lingering kiss and scooped the child up into her arms. 'I think it's time for someone's din-dins!'

'Maybe I should sort this one out.' Remus grinned as his wife scowled. He was about to heat up the forgotten beans when he felt an interruption in the house wards he'd put up when the family moved into their home. Remus wasn't worried as the magic that had disturbed the wards was allowed through, meaning it was harmless and he had allowed it access into his home. Turning around he came face to face with a glowing white phoenix. The glorious creature settled on the back of one of the chairs and Dumbledore's voice erupted from its break in a worried tone.

'Voldemort is on his way. He is preparing an attack on Hogwarts. Help is needed immediately. Notify all known allies.'

Neither of the two Order members spoke for a minute. When Tonks gulped loudly, her husband turned to her, a worried look settled across his face.

'I need to go to Hogwarts.' Remus said firmly as the animal faded and his son broke out into tears in his baby seat.

'I'll come with you.'

'You will do no such thing.'

'What?' Tonks asked angrily.

'I said you're not going with me. End of.' Remus left the kitchen, putting on his shoes, ready to apparate to the school.

'Don't you dare tell me what to do!'

'You're four months pregnant! The last thing you should be doing is charging head first into a raging battle with the most powerful dark wizard in the world. You could be killed!'

'Oh and you won't be?' Tonks crossed her arms over her chest. 'Don't act like the brave soldier now, Remus. You'd be putting yourself in as much danger as me so you might as well let me join you.'

Remus' eyes widened and he took both her hands in his. 'We could lose the baby.' he said painfully.

The message finally seemed to pass into Tonks' mind and she fell silent. Remus could sense her fear and hugged her close. 'I didn't think of that.' she whispered.

'I know. But now you have, will you promise me that you'll stay here…safe?'

Tonks looked unsure but after another begging glance from her husband she nodded once and he sighed in relief. 'Just…be careful, okay?'

Remus smiled sadly and pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. 'I promise you, I will come home to you. I'm not going to let anything happen to me. I'll never leave you like that if I can help it.' Bending his head he captured her lips in another kiss, holding her neck gently to bring them closer. He felt her lips part and her tongue trail along his own. Almost as soon as the kiss had begun to deepen, Remus stepped back, unable to let himself get carried away in the moment. Turning to his tearful child, Remus picked him up and hugged him tightly, kissing his small cheeks and fluffy hair. 'You better look after your mummy while I'm gone.' he whispered, reaching a hand out to rub Tonks' round stomach. 'You need to watch out for them both.'

Tonks slipped under his arm and joined the family hug. She felt her eyes dampen and took a shaky breath. She told herself to remain calm, not to panic but for all she knew, this could be the last time she saw her husband…alive. She may never get to talk to him again, hold him, kiss him, make love with him…watch their babies grow into adults…grow old together. He could be taken from her in moments or have to endure a painful death…and she could do nothing about it.

'I can't believe it's time…' she said distantly. 'I can't believe it's finally happening…that soon it could all be over…for better or for worse.'

'Hey, don't think about that now. You need to be strong…for me. Can you do that?' Remus enveloped her in a final hug before making for the door. Tonks stood breathless in the kitchen, her right hand resting on her belly, her left clenched so tight she could feel the wedding ring on her finger digging into her cold palm. As Teddy submitted into a distressed silence the only sound in the airy room was Tonks' strangled whisper after her husband's departure.

'I love you.'

Ron automatically squeezed his girlfriend's hand when she slipped her small fingers around his own. She looked a little shaken, as he was sure he must do too, at the message they had just received. They had been sat in the bedroom, Ron dressing for work and Hermione leaning back on the headboard reading through some papers she had been working on for the release of mistreated House Elves. The couple, both working in the Ministry, had both discovered that their work required some rather odd hours and at first had found it hard to see each other due to their clashing time tables. However they had managed to work around the difficult hours, swapping shifts with co workers until they had almost completely harmonious schedules. Now they could spend as much time together as possible and often found themselves eating lunch or dinner together before going back to work. However, today was one of the rare days that they were working back to back hours and, once Ron left for his midday shift, wouldn't see one another until the next morning.

As the bird had come swooping in through the open window Ron had been startled and grabbed the nearest object to defend himself with. The phoenix had seemed completely undeterred by the black boot that went soaring through the air and sliced through its body. It stopped on the end of the bed frame and relayed the headmaster's message.

Once the patronus had disappeared Ron and Hermione sat quietly on the bed, side by side, neither ready for what was about to happen. They had been preparing for this moment, when Voldemort would finally make a move and commence a battle to finish off what he had started so many years ago. Hundreds of people, on sides both light and dark, had been waiting for this last fight and many of them would, and were willing to, lose their lives because of it. Hermione felt sick at the thought of it but what scared her more was the thought that the reason why this battle was taking place was because Voldemort was ready to kill Harry. The two of them would meet face to face at Hogwarts, amongst the raging war surrounding them, or possibly away from the madness where Voldemort could have his victorious moment all to himself. She could only hope that it wouldn't come to that; and Harry would find a way to defeat the man once and for all.

'I guess we better go tell Malfoy.' Ron said quietly.

Hermione nodded, her curls quivering as she took a shaky breath. However, she stood with determination, led her boyfriend by the hand to the living room where she had spotted the blonde earlier that morning. Malfoy didn't look up as they entered, preferring to ignore the pair as best he could.

'Malfoy.'

The blonde seemed engrossed in the book he was reading as he produced no response.

'Malfoy?!'

He simply licked the end of his finger and idly turned the page.

'Oi, blondie!'

Shutting the book Draco turned to the couple with a weary expression. 'Alright Weasley…I give in. What are you yodeling about this time?'

Refusing to take the bait, Ron bit back the retort that was dancing on the tip of his tongue. 'Hogwarts is…V-v…we need to-'

'Voldemort is on his way to Hogwarts.'

The book fell to the floor.

Hermione sat on the bottom step of the stair case, pulling on her shoes as Ron made a few firecalls and Draco paced along the corridor on the floor above. He had a difficult decision to make, both Ron and Hermione understood that, but they couldn't delay on his part for too long; Harry and the rest of Hogwarts needed them.

Ron soon came bounding down the stairs and started getting ready to leave. After watching Malfoy dart around the living room in shock and panic, the redhead had ushered the wizard and witch out of the room so he could call work and find out if the Aurors knew what was happening. He soon found out that Kingsley had been informed by Dumbledore, as well as a few other Order members, and had already gathered the Aurors who were leaving for the school immediately. Ron then hurriedly grabbed another handful of floo powder and firecalled the Burrow.

George appeared first and asked Ron if he had received the message from Dumbledore and then if he and Hermione were still okay. Once Ron had replied and assured his brother to his wellbeing, he asked to speak to their mum who quickly came bustling over and crouched down before him.

'Hello dear, shouldn't you be at the school by now?' She smiled brightly and used her calming mothering tone, but Ron could tell by the wideness of her eyes and the way she wrung her hands that she was as nervous as he was.

'We're just on our way…I just wanted to see you…before we left.'

Molly's eyes creased with sadness and her lips trembled. 'Oh poppet…don't be like that. It'll all be alright…you'll see.'

'But it might not be.' Ron sad quickly. 'It's going to be really dangerous and…so…I don't want you to go.'

'What? Of course I'm going-'

'Please mum! I can't…we can't lose you!'

'You won't lose me, darling. I won't let that happen. But listen here Ronald; my family is going into this battle to fight for the people they love and yes, some of them may be injured or…die because of it but I'll be damned if you think I'm going to sit idly by and watch it happen. I'm going to fight because it's the only thing I can do. Don't worry about us…we'll all look out for each other. You just kept yourself, Hermione and Harry safe, okay?'

Ron nodded, unable to reply. 'I love you, Mum.' he finally croaked.

'I love you too, my sweet.'

He sniffed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. 'Send my love to everyone…even Percy…if you see him.'

After a few more words of comfort from his mother, Ron bid her farewell and stood from the green flames.

Yay! Another chapter. Only a couple left before then end...

NarglesAreBehindIt- Thank you. Hope you enjoy this chapter and the fighting that's about to come up.

Phoenixx Rising- He is creepy but I love writing Voldemort because he you can write him either quite funny (in a creepy way of course) or really scary. It often helps if you've had a bad day and feel like hitting someone to make old Voldy do it for you. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Snape will make it through unscathed. Hope you liked this chapter.

blaizeice9967- Awwww! I wanna give you a hug! Thank you. After receiving a rather nasty review for a pervious chapter recently that made me doubt myself, your review really made me happy. Thank you! I've been working on this story for about two years and it's been hard with school work and my self confidence at times too. But I'm glad some people like what I write and take the time to let me know. I'm really happy that you're enjoying it, even if Harry is, like you said, a little ooc. I understand what you mean. I thought that maybe Azkaban would have changed him, knocked his confidence, but he does seem a bit wimpy. Please review again.