firstly: i am so so SO sorry for not updating sooner. i had major writers block, then i finally figured it out (thank you loverofthequill), and then my computer crashed erasing it, and my mom needed me to do all these things, and i'm leaving for camp on sunday and am way to busy, so. in short. sorry, but i hope to get at least 2 more chapters up before i leave. i hope you enjoy this one. and i also hope you don't think it's moving too fast. i just felt like it needed to start going somewhere, so there's a bit more fluff in here. i'm planning on upping the rating with later chapters.

second: as i mentioned before, this chapter would, again, not be in existance with out the amazing loverofthequill. if you need a great tonks/lupin story, read hers!!!! "scared to love" it's amazing. (and now more people have this on alert, so it will get around sooner ;))

again with the cannon thing: not in exact cannon with tonks being at Grimmauld place and harry not being and deatheathers and whatnot. i'm sorry if that bothers you, but live with it. i'm trying to make it work.

i think that's it, sorry for the uber long A/N. anywho....on with!!

disclaimer: so i know it's been along time, so maybe you've forgotten. if that's the case: i'm not J.K Rowling as mucha s i wish i could be. i'm not making money off this, so yeah. the story!!

Remus and Tonks apparated to a deserted field about a mile away from the mansion that they were to be inspecting.

"Erm, where are we?" Tonks asked timidly.

"We're very close to the Tavernhill Mansion in Luxembourg." Remus said, taking her arm and pulling her in the right direction. "Come on, we have to do this for Dumbledore."

After walking for about twenty minutes, a giant building loomed up from the rolling moor. Tonks gasped audibly. She and Lupin made their way to the front door. They could tell that this was a foreboding house, as there was a snake relief carved into the door. Tonks reached for the doorknob, which, oddly enough, turned, and the door opened with a creek.

"Come. We'll split up. I'll go to one side, and you go to the other, ok?" Tonks whispered into Remus's ear. He shivered as her breath tickled his neck.

"Sounds good. I'll meet you back here in ten minutes. Then we'll split up again. Just as a precaution."

She loved how careful and serious he was. She turned to the right, and faced a great living room. It was big, and there were antique couches and chairs. The fireplace was grand, but it made her uneasy. She looked at it, and noticed that all the tools that one uses with a fire were shaped like snakes. She found nothing unusual there, but suddenly she heard a crash from a room upstairs.

She began running towards the sounds, but before she knew it, she was flying through the air and landed in someone's lap. She screeched and jumped off and pulled out her wand.

"Hold Tonks, it's me, relax. I was just going to check on you. Did you make that crash?" He asked, holding her steady.

"What? No, I was just going to see if someone else had. It came from upstairs." She said, slightly breathless from falling into Remus's warm lap.

"Well then, we must get a move on and check it out."

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Let's go."

They walked slowly up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. Remus was behind Tonks to make sure that he could catch her if she tripped, which she did. The made it up to the second floor landing, and could hear voices coming from one of the rooms.

"Shh," Remus motioned to Tonks as they crept to the sound. They heard muffled conversation, but they couldn't make any of it out.

"Should we do something?" Tonks whispered.

"No," Remus replied. "Remember what Dumbledore said. We should call on the Order members for help not deal with it ourselves."

Tonks nodded and a silver patronus erupted from the end of her wand. She flicked her wand, and it disappeared in a flash of light. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now we wait." He sat down and leaned against the wall. He patted the floor next to him, motioning for Tonks to sit by him. She sat down, but left a good six inches between them.

"Remus, I need to talk to you."

Lupin took a deep breath, "What about?" The butterflies in his stomach were wreaking havoc, making him feel like he wanted to throw up.

"I just want to say," she began, moving closer to him. "Well, maybe this isn't the best place to say it. I mean, we're about to fight."

"No, come on Nymphadora; just enlighten me a little bit." Remus said, reaching to brush her arm. Goosebumps erupted on her skin, and she wasn't sure if she could continue whether she wanted to or not.

"Remus, you are my best friend. And I don't want to lose you. We don't know what's waiting for us in there, and I think that we need to be careful, but if one of us doesn't make it--"

"Well, you're the optimist." Remus said, smirking at her.

"Let me finish. If one of us doesn't make it, I need you to know that--"

"Where are your wands? Why are you sitting? Why aren't you guys guarding?" Moody growled when he saw Remus and Tonks sitting outside on the floor.

They jumped and pulled out their wands in fright the moment Mad-Eye showed up.

"Crap Mad-Eye, you scared me! I will discuss your impeccable timing with you later. Now, thanks to your outburst, the Death Eaters now know that we are here."

"Come on, let's get this over with." He said.

"Wait." Tonks and Mad-Eye looked at Remus. "Are you the only one here?"

"No, Hestia, Emmeline, Kingsley and Mr. Weasley are here too."

"Ok, let's go."

"Alohamora!" Moody muttered and the lock clicked. The low murmurs in the room ceased, as the two Death Eaters realized that someone was there. "Petrificus Totalus! Incarcerous!" Moody cried as soon as the Death Eaters turned to see who came in.

The five Order members stood around the two Death Eaters.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Rookwood and Avery, aren't you two supposed to be in prison?" Moody said towering over the two Death Eaters.

"Our master freed us. I'm afraid the dementors are not under the Ministry's power anymore, Mad-Eye." Rookwood said, struggling against the ropes that were binding him.

"Yes, well I gathered that much. Come now, we're going to said Ministry."

"Well, we won't be going voluntarily."

"I wasn't expecting you to."

"So what? Are you going to even try to fight us? I'm sure you'd just love to kill us, wouldn't you?"

"You wish Rookwood. But that's not my job. Stupefy!" he cried, and he struggling Rookwood grew still. "Come on Kingsley; help me with these, would you?"

"Not so fast, Alaster." A voice came from the door. The surprised Oder members turned to see Bellatrix standing in the door, wand raised. "Put down Rookwood and Avery, or I will put you down." She said threateningly.

"Bella, let's kill them!" another voice cooed. This was the voice of Lucius Malfoy. And with a yell from the Death Eater, suddenly an explosion of spells lit the room. Light of all colors flashed and missed spells hit the furniture sending it up in flames, or blasting it apart.

Remus was fighting Lucius, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tonks fall. He shot one more Full-Body Bind curse at Malfoy, which hit its mark, and then his vision began to fade. Everything became fuzzy; he was hearing the sounds of battle as if he has a pillow over his head; his chest and insides felt like they were collapsing. All he could think about was his dear Nymphadora. Was she alive or dead; he couldn't tell.

"It's over. We've gotten them all." He heard Arthur say from very far away. "Come on, we'd better get these two to St. Mungo's. Hestia, come with me please. You three can stay here and deal with the Death Eaters."

The next thing he knew was he was waking up on an impossibly soft bed at St. Mungo's. He looked wildly around, trying to find someone he recognized.

"Mrs. Weasley! How's Tonks? Is she ok? What happened?" he said frantically.

"Remus dear, relax. Tonks is fine, she's resting. She'll be coming home tomorrow. As for what happened, well, from what Arthur told me, Tonks got hit by a spell from Bellatrix, and is now in a coma-like state, but the Healers say that she will make a full recovery." Molly said.

"Wait, what?! Go back to the coma-like thing." Remus said, jumping from the bed.

"Remus, dear, sit down, you've had a lot of emotional stress. You need to relax." Molly reprimanded.

"Molly, stop acting like Madame Pomfrey and tell me about Nymphadora."

"Well, she should be fine. She's just in the other room. Once you rest a little more you can go see her."

"No, I want to see her now. I need to talk to her."

"No Remus. You can't go now. She's not conscious. Please, just wait until she wakes up, alright?" Molly said beseechingly.

"Oh alright. But you must promise me that you will tell me the moment I can see her."

"Sure thing dear. I'm just going to go visit her and see if she's up."

Molly got up and exited the room, leaving Remus with his thoughts. I wonder what she wanted to tell me before Moody so rudely interrupted us. I must talk to her. No, I will wait for Molly to tell me I can see her. It's only fair.

***

Tonks lay in her bed at St. Mungo's completely unaware that the love of her life was worrying about her just through a thin wall. For that matter, she didn't know anything. She was completely knocked out, and when she finally came round, she saw no one. She heard the door open and saw Mrs. Weasley coming in.

"Oh hello dear, I see you're awake. How are you feeling? Are you ok?" Molly said, rushing to Tonks's bedside.

"Wotcher Molly. I think I'm ok. I just feel kinda tired. What happened? Last I remembered I was dueling Bellatrix." Tonks said, rubbing her head.

"Oh sweetheart, lie back down. You were knocked unconscious, and Arthur and Hestia brought you and Remus here."

"Remus?" she asked, sitting straight up (which was a bad idea, as her head began to pound the moment she did). "Is he ok? What happened to him?"

"He'll be fine. I think he just had an emotional overload, seeing you, and thinking you were dead. He just fainted, but as it was so soon after a full moon, it hit him a little harder than he thought. He's awake, and told me to tell him the moment you could see him. Do you feel up to it?" Molly asked, gently pushing Tonks back to a lying position.

"Oh yes Molly. Please tell him to come at once. I really need to talk to him." Tonks said hurriedly.

"Oh course dear. Just a minute."

Tonks lay back in bed, wonder what to say to Remus when he came in. should I tell him how I feel? I got the impression he had some kind of feeling for me when we were back in Luxembourg. And I told him I had something to say, so I bet he'll ask me about it. I'd better tell him.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Remus burst into the room.

"Nymphadora!" he said, running to her and wrapping her in a hug that melted her insides. "You're alright! Oh thank god. I was so worried. How are you feeling? Are you ok?"

"Don't call me Nymphadora Remus." She said, snuggling closer into his chest.

"Well, if you can tell me off for calling you Nymphadora, I'm sure you're back to your normal self." He said, smirking.

"Yes, I'm fine. My head hurts a little and I'm a bit tired, but other than that, I'm fine. Oh it's good to see you."

"Mmm, it's good to see you too. Come, I don't want you standing for too long. Let's sit down." Remus said, giving her a playful shove towards the bed. She sat down, and scooted over, making room for him to sit by her. Remus sat down and reached for her hand. He grasped it, sending tingles up his arm. "So Nymphadora, you were saying something before we were brutally interrupted by a certain auror you call a mentor."

She giggled and began again.

"Remus, when I first met you, I was terrified. No, I was beyond terrified. I practically got on my knees begging Moody to let me owl you so I didn't have to meet you. I was petrified of the thought of meeting and talking to a werewolf. Moody just recently told me that the point of the report was, not to make a report, but to ease my fears. And to make a perfect bridge to inducting me to the Order.

"Now, I have to tell you. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth—no, just kidding. Sorry, I tend to make stupid puns when I'm nervous."

"It's ok, Nymphadora, we needed a tension cutter anyway. Just go on." Remus said with a smile.

"Alright. So anyway, in the beginning I wasn't sure how I felt. I remember sitting with you, being captured by your story, and feeling, sorry for you. It confused me. I wasn't sure what I thought of it, as I was scared to death of you. But on the other hand, all I wanted to do was hug you and tell you I'd be there for you." Tonks broke off, startled because Remus had just moved his hand from hers, and placed his around her shoulder. The butterflies in Tonks's stomach took off again as she curled into Remus's side.

"Then we spent time at Grimmauld Place with each other. I got to know you, and realized that you weren't the monster I was expecting. You were, and are, a compassionate, careful, charming, and polite; I could go on and on. In short, you are amazing. And I just kept noticing it. Over and over. How much you cared for Molly and Sirius, even when he was acting out, and being drunk. You are calm and patient. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, Remus, I think that I might be in love with you." She concluded, moving her head, so she could look at his face.

He didn't say anything. He just looked off into the distance with a very thoughtful look on his face. Oh no, did I say something? Was this the wrong time? What if he doesn't feel the same way? Oh god oh god she fretted.

"Dora," he began at long last. Tonks's heart fluttered at the use of the very special nickname she only let very special people use. "I'm afraid to get across the thought I'm having right now, I must tell you a little bit more about my life. And this for certain is not pleasant. I hope you don't mind." He said, looking her in the eye and despite the serious atmosphere, me noticed how her eyes were a very warm amber shade.

"Of course not Remus. Please tell me. I'll listen." She said, nuzzling once again into his shoulder.

"Ok. It was James and Lily's wedding. Sirius, Peter and I were all in the wedding party. It was such a happy day. Little did we all know that this was going to be one of the last. About a year later, a little boy was born: Harry. We were all overjoyed. We all spent large amounts of time at James and Lily's playing with Harry and talking and laughing. Then one day, we got the news that the Potters had to go into hiding. Dumbledore did the Fidelius Charm and Sirius was the Secret Keeper; or so we all thought. Apparently, Sirius convinced Wormy that was Peter, to switch with him. Less than a week later, the Potters were killed. Brutally murdered by Voldemort." Remus let a stray tear fall down his face. Tonks wiped it with her hand and Remus felt the skin burn where she had touched him.

"Then many things happened. Harry was taken to those awful Muggles, and Peter and Sirius had a faceoff in a Muggle street. Peter faked his own death, and Sirius was sent to Azkaban. In the time span of one week, I lost my four best friends. I was miserable. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't get a job and all my friends were dead or in prison."

"Oh Remus, I'm so sorry." Tonks said, tears falling down her face.

"No, it's really alright. Years passed, and Sirius broke free, we found Peter, and Sirius escaped. You know that story. I had one of my friends back. But he was different. You would be too if you had just spent fourteen years in prison. I stayed with Sirius, so happy to have a friend back again. Then I met you. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to have found Sirius, but you just added such a spark to my day. I cannot even begin to tell you. You are my best non-marauder friend I've ever had, and probably every will have. If you preformed Legillimens on me right now, you would find that I have thought and dreamt about you. Nymphadora Tonks, I think that I am also, in love with you." He concluded, hugging her tight.

"Remus, I must say, you probably don't want to know what's been going through my head." She said, winking at him. He just smiled at her and bent down.

Their lips met, and it was the most wonderful thing. Remus thought he was going to burn. It was just as good as and ten times better than in his dream. His lips moved against hers, making him feel faint. He never felt this way about anyone. Ever. This was just amazing. He didn't want it to ever end. He wanted to kiss Nymphadora for the rest of his life.

It took a minute for the kiss to click in Tonks's head. But once it did, there was no going back. She thought she was going to float right out of her bed at St. Mungo's. Remus's lips felt perfect against hers and she wondered how she even tried to dream of this kiss, because nothing was like it. She ran her hands through his hair, feeling in all its silky softness.

"Remus," she said, breaking away. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dora."

Yup, so that's the end. i hope you liked it. sorry i had to depress you with Remus's story (again) but the next chapter will be all the different people commenting and talking about tonks/lupin. then the next one will be getting harry. (if it's not cannon, deal). so that's my plan. i leave for camp on sunday and won't be back till august 26, so if i don't get the said chapters up by then, well, i'll have them up as soon as i get back. thanks for reading and thanks for being patient. Review please!!! ~mangotango101