Note: For Kuroida, because she was kind enough to update her fic too!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from this writing.

9: The Dream Team

Tonks' eyes were fixed upon the wand as she wrenched her arm free again, reaching for a second time, only to feel a hand grasp hold of the back of her hair, pulling her head backwards with a painful throb in her scalp.

As Teddy watched in horror as the man shoved his mother's face into the stone floor, breaking her nose with a ugly crunch, the child reached to shake Remus urgently by the shoulder.

"Dad!" he squeaked as Tonks' head was yanked backwards again, revealing the damage in all it's bloody glory. "Do something!"

Unsurprisingly, Remus gave no response.

Let's be honest, the voice inside Teddy's voice suggested as Tonks managed to elbow the man somewhat feebly in the jaw, the only one left fit to do anything here is you...

Instantly snapped out of his horror-stricken daze, Teddy scrambled to his feet and dashed across the room, lunging for the wand himself. His fingers closed around the handle and he straightened up, drawing a deep, breath as both of the struggling pair froze, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Remember," Remus said as he stood before the assembled members of the Hogwarts Dueling Club. "Keep a firm grip on your wand!"

Teddy gripped the handle of the wand until his knuckles whitened.

"Feet spread out so you don't overbalance!"

Teddy adopted his basic battle stance.

"Stay focused, be calm, no panicking! And enunciate! I want to hear every single syllable perfectly clearly! Now, wands ready and repeat after me..."

"Petrificus Totalus!" Teddy bellowed, elated at the sight of a jet of light shooting from the end of the wand, striking the man squarely between the shoulder blades. The man froze, limbs snapping to his sides, rigid as a board.

"Ha!" Tonks grinned, wincing as Teddy hurried to help her disentangle herself from their victim. "That's my boy! If your dad could see you, Teddy, he'd split his face smiling, I swear it..."

As he waited for her to stagger to her feet before offering her the wand, Teddy could not help but disagree with her. Remus smiled at a lot of things that other people would scowl at – James Potter demonstrating just how loud he could scream, Chester Burton's daft responses to questions in class, Tonks serving dinner despite having burnt it to a crisp. But his son forced into incapacitating a Death Eater to save his wife from having her skull cracked open against a hard stone floor? What was even remotely smile-worthy about that?

Teddy numbly followed Tonks back over to where Remus lay seemingly oblivious to the world.

"Wotcher, Remus." the boy heard her murmur to the werewolf as she dropped to her knees beside him. "You're doing great, love. Just hang in there, okay? Just a little longer." She reached into the pocket of his robes and retrieved a handkerchief, hastily mopping the blood from her face. Once the blood had mostly gone and she had mended her nose with a muttered word and a wave of the stolen wand, Teddy began to feel a little calmer again.

That was until Tonks lent to kiss Remus once upon the forehead before straightening up and heading towards the door.

"Let's go, Teddy." she instructed, glancing back at him expectantly.

Teddy simply stared at her, confused.

"But...what about Dad?"

"Dad's staying here. Come on, we don't have all day."

"But...but we can't just leave him here!"

"We can hardly take him with us either."

"Well...well you could...conjour a stretcher...or...or something..."

Tonks' expression was deeply regretful as she told him:

"We've only got one wand, love, and we're not about to just stroll out of here, are we? Wouldn't be much of an imprisonment if we could do that. Speaking of which...it's only a matter of time before somebody figures out what we've done. We need to go..."

"But..."

"Now, Teddy."

Teddy glanced down at Remus again, reluctant to leave him.

"I could...I could stay with him." he began, reaching to adjust the makeshift pillow under the werewolf's head. "I mean...I'm not much use am I? I...I don't have a wand or...or anything..."

"You reckon I should leave you here all on your own?" Tonks strode over and reached down to grasp him firmly by the arm, pulling him almost roughly to his feet. "Merlin, Teddy, I know I'm not the best parent in the world, but I'm not a complete idiot! I'm getting you out of here as quickly as is humanly possible, you hear me? When we're out we'll send for help, then once the coast is clear I'll come back and get Dad. Okay?" She didn't wait to hear what Teddy thought of this plan, she gave him a firm push towards the door. Shooting one last glance at her husband, she told him: "I'll be back before you know it, Remus, so don't go dying. I mean it, you dare die on me and I swear, I'll set fire to your book collection." And with that she stalked over to the door, Teddy hurrying along behind her. Tonks reached to test the handle, finding that it had been left unlocked.

"Amateurs." Teddy heard her mutter rather smugly under her breath.

Once Tonks had deemed the coast to be clear, the two of them set off down the corridor, their progression slow, cautious.

"You'd think Death Eaters would be better at this kind of thing." Teddy commented after a moment, the silence being far too tense for his liking, and at his words Tonks gave a somewhat superior snort.

"Death Eaters!" she muttered disbelievingly. "Which idiot told you they were Death Eaters?"

"Nobody...well...Dad said it was possible..."

"Possible? Yes. Probably? Absolutely not. Personally I would've preferred Death Eaters, it would've been far more interesting. Not to mention how great it makes me look when I throw them in Azkaban, we'd have made the front page of the Prophet..." Tonks halted her whispering and came to such an abrupt halt that Teddy almost walked straight into the back of her.

"Is somebody there?" Teddy hissed, only for the Auror to reached back to clamp a firm hand over his mouth.

"Quiet!" Tonks instructed, the single word little more than a sharply exhaled breath, and she raised the stolen wand, grip firm upon the handle.

At the sound of footsteps, Teddy felt nervous bubbling up inside of him, he hunched his shoulders in an attempt to cower behind his mother.

"Just...don't...move..." Tonks told him slowly, taking the smallest of steps forward in order to peer around the corner. No sooner has she caught a glimpse of what lay ahead, she drew hastily back again, flattening herself up against the wall. Teddy hurriedly followed suit.

The footsteps stopped abruptly and Teddy felt his heart give a jolt as a woman's voice called:

"Lysander! Lysander, I heard voices!"

Tonks squeezed her eyes closed and muttered:

"Shit."

Teddy was vaguely aware that he ought be shocked at such language, but he was much too busy feeling panic assault his insides.

"What's wrong?" he mouthed as Tonks' eyes snapped back open again. "There's only one of them...right? You can...you can take one, right?"

Tonks pushed back from the wall, drawing in a deep breath.

"'Course I can." she muttered, and Teddy could not help but get the impression that she was not entirely sure. He did not get the chance to ask anything else, though, for quite suddenly she sprung out from their hiding place and, thrusting the wand forwards, sent a stunning jinx streaking down the corridor. Teddy had barely heard the heavy thud of the woman hitting the floor before Tonks seized him by the arm and pulled him around the corner after her.

"Run." she instructed simply, and with that Teddy found himself sprinting down the corridor, his arm aching in protest as she dragged him along behind her.

"I can't run any faster!" he protested as they approached the lifeless figure of an old woman upon the floor. As they passed, Tonks stuck out an arm, pointing.

"That," she informed her son as they bolted around the next corner and up a new corridor. "Is Agatha Rowle, whose son, Thorfinn, I just locked up in Azkaban. That guy whose keeping Dad company back in the holding room was Thorfinn's son Oraphin..."

"Ma?" a deep, alarmed voice cried from somewhere behind them, and Teddy flinched at the sound of it.

"And that," Tonks continued, aiming the wand at the door that they were fast approaching, causing it to fling itself open just in time for them to dash through it. "That would be Thorfinn's older brother Lysander Rowle."

Teddy's breath caught in his throat as he gasped, stumbling a little as they ran across what appeared to be a bare looking entrance hall.

"As in...as in Lysander Rowle who...who..."

"Who killed the three Aurors and six muggles two years ago at the Dawn Hill Masscre? Yep, that's him." Tonks hurried caused the final set of doors to open and Teddy found himself being dragged out into the bitter cold of a forest in early January. Tonks did not pause at the sudden icy air that struck them as they left the building, she simply continued to run towards the cover of the trees. "Now," she said as they picked their way through the greenery, paced slowed as Teddy gasped for breath, heart still hammering in his ears. "He's already knocked me out cold once this past week, so I don't want him catching up with me again!" They came to an abrupt halt and this time Teddy ran straight into the back of her, causing her to stumble, narrowly avoiding falling flat on her face. "I certainly don't want him getting his hands on you." she continued, turning to regard her son rather worriedly. Her hands came to rest upon his shoulders and as she stared down at him, Teddy silently prayed that this was not the end of her plan.

"What about Dad?" he asked, biting his lip worriedly at the thought of Lysander Rowle back in the building, Remus helplessly sick and at his mercy.

"I'm going to go and get him." Tonks said, tightening her grip upon his shoulders. "And you, Teddy, are going to wait here."

Teddy's eyes widened in alarm, he reached to grasp hold of the front of his mother's robes.

"Don't leave me!" he begged frantically, tears immediately clouding his eyes. "Please Mum! I...I'm scared!"

Tonks reached to cup his face in her hands, her expression firm.

"Listen to me, love," she said as Teddy instantly dissolved into tears. "Listen carefully. Your dad is very sick. Very, very sick..."

"Please, Mum..."

"...I am going to send for the Order and they are going to alert the Aurors. But I don't have time to wait for them..."

"Don't go..."

"...if I don't go now there is a very good chance..."

"No! No, no, no!"

"...that your dad will die."

"No!"

"And that is why, Teddy, you are going to wait here for the Aurors to arrive. You are going to climb this tree here, morph your hair green and your skin dark, and you are going to hide until they arrive..."

"I don't want you to go..."

"Listen to what I'm saying, Teddy: If Dad doesn't get to the hospital soon, if I don't get to him and take him there, he might die."

Teddy's mouth fell open in shocked realization and despair, but no words came out.

"Get up the tree." Tonks told him, face suddenly firm, stoic.

Numbly, Teddy did as he was told. As he carefully morphed his hair to match the leaves around him he watched Tonks send her patronus shooting off into the distance. She looked up at him, face scrutinizing, until quite suddenly her expression softened.

"Don't worry, love." she told him comfortingly as he swiped at the tears upon his face. "I'm not going to let Dad die, I promise. Everything is going to turn out just fine. You just need to be brave for me, okay?"

She watched as the face that was peering down at her turned slowly stoic, mimicking her expression from before. As his skin darkened, Teddy told her:

"Go and get Dad."

Without another word, Tonks turned on her heel and began to stride purposefully back towards the building.

Tonks crept around the side of the building, looking for a different, less obvious way inside. After completing a full circle around the building, finding all of the windows firmly closed, the Auror paused, crouched down beside an abandoned wheelbarrow, and cursed colourfully under her breath. It had been risky, foolish even, she realized, to dash straight out of the front door. It was a miracle that Lysander Rowle, or any other members of the family who were likely to be around, had not caught her and Teddy in their desperate bid for freedom...

A bit too big a miracle, in fact. How could they have let two of their captives escape so easily? What had them so distracted? What were they up to?

It doesn't matter, Tonks reminded herself firmly. Whatever it is, just be thankful for it. Just concentrate on getting Remus out of there...

How in Merlin's name was she going to manage that? Just as she'd told Teddy earlier, she only had the one wand, she needed help! But help took time. Time that Remus did not have.

You best hurry up and think of something, she thought to herself, once again squeezing her eyes firmly closed. Think fast, because if you were to lose him...

Merlin, the thought of it! Tonks reached to press her thumbs into her eyelids and her eyes ached in protest, attempting to chase the thoughts away.

I'm too young to be a widow, she thought miserably, I'd be too weak to raise Teddy all on my own...this perfect little world of mine would all come crashing down, and I'd crumble along with it.

We're a team, Remus and me, an unlikely and yet strong, solid team and there is nothing that life could throw at us that could beat us down.

Tonks could still vividly remember being sat in the dingy kitchen of Grimmauld Place, watching Remus make tea as Sirius examined that week's rotor for guard duty in the Department of Mysteries.

"It's the Dream Team's turn tomorrow night!" the Azkaban escapee had announced with a smirk, and before he could say another word Remus had shot him a warning look and muttered:

"Shut up, Padfoot."

"Just 'cause you think we make an awesome team, Sirius, doesn't mean you have to keep banging on about it." Tonks had said as Remus had set down a mug of tea upon the table in front of her.

"Don't get him started." Remus had warned, as Sirius had put down the parchment he was holding in order to fix his two friends with a knowing look.

"You know why you two are the Dream Team, don't you, Moony?" he'd said, smirking again as Remus had sat heavily down beside Tonks, folding his arms somewhat moodily across his chest. "It's not because you're so awesome, as Tonks put it. It's cause you make sure you're together so you can spend your shifts staring at one another with daft, dreamy expressions on your faces..."

Tonks distinctly remembered her face flushing in embarrassment, stung when Remus had observed:

"It's really quite shocking what Fire Whiskey can do to your powers of deduction, Sirius. We're only going together because Hestia has to cancel and I'm the only one with nothing else on."

It had not been long before Sirius had wandered off upstairs to feed Buckbeak, leaving the other two to drink their cups of tea in peace. Tonks had been very quiet for a long time, still hurt at how determined to dismiss Sirius' insinuations Remus had been, until she couldn't stand the silence any longer and announced:

"Well I don't care what you or Sirius think! I still reckon we do make a great team!"

And Remus had looked up from staring absently at the steam rising from his mug, a twinkle in his eyes that Tonks could still recall with glorious, heart-warming clarity.

"I know we do." he'd said with the smallest of smiles. "That's why I told Hestia to take the night off, so I could come with you instead."

They were a great team. Separation was not an option. Tonks could not even comprehend the emptiness, the dead hole, the endless pain in her heart and ache in her soul. It would kill her, she was sure of it, and Teddy...Merlin what would happen to Teddy...?

Love is for wimps, she recalled telling her mother at the young age of ten, whilst complaining about the soppy romance novel that she had discovered upon the arm of Andromeda's armchair. Tonks wondered if it were possible for her to have been more wrong. Love was a risk, a risk taken rashly, or perhaps without choice. And Merlin, you had to be brave, because it could slip away from you just like that...

She would not let it slip away. Remus was not going to die. It wasn't going to happen. Not on her watch.

And so it was that Remus' wife pulled herself together, marched around to the back of the building, drew in a deep breath, before blasting one of the windows off it's hinges. She didn't care how many people heard her. She didn't care if they all came running. She'd strike down every last single one of them.

They would regret the day they even considered capturing the Lupins, she would make sure of that.