A/N: Like the previous one-shot, this little story was written for The Houses Competition. See notes below for details.

Summary: A missing moment. What happened after Tonks confessed her love for Remus in the hospital wing? This is a short account of how Remus and Tonks decided to get together after Dumbledore's death.

Notes: a few lines taken directly from Half-Blood Prince in italics; mild language (nothing that wasn't seen in canon); references to canonical character death.

Gentle ripples marred the Black Lake's surface. Tonks sat on the shore of the lake, her knees pulled up close to her chest, her face pressed against her ripped denim trousers, trying very hard not to focus on the throbbing pain in her shoulder.

She had other problems.

Not fifteen minutes before, she'd confessed her love to Remus Lupin in a humiliating, public way. As expected, he had rejected her – again. He was 'too old, too poor, and too dangerous.' She didn't care about those factors, but he did. Now, Tonks was nursing a wounded shoulder and a broken heart at the Black Lake, alone.

Her outburst in the hospital wing had been foolish and poorly timed. Bill Weasley, savagely attacked by Fenrir Greyback, was healing from his grotesque wounds. Molly and Fleur argued and when Fleur declared her love for Bill and insisted she would marry him, regardless of his mangled face, Tonks saw an opportunity to mirror her friend's brave admission of love.

"You see! She still wants to marry him even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!" she had shouted at Remus, whose protests were made through thin, tight lips.

"It's different," he'd said tensely. "Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely–"

Tonks, in her impetuousness, had seized the front of his robes and shaken him, saying, "But I don't care either, I don't care! I've told you a million times!"

Remus had refused to look at her and repeated the same tired words. His age, poverty, and condition were obstacles that apparently couldn't be overcome.

Arthur and Molly, in their kindness, had supported Tonks. Remus countered by reminding them all that it wasn't the time to discuss the relationship, as Dumbledore was dead. He had been killed by now-traitorous, ex-Order member, Severus Snape.

Even McGonagall came to Tonks' aid, curtly saying that Dumbledore would've been happy to know there was more love in the world. However, before the matter could be discussed further, Hagrid came into the hospital wing to propose moving Dumbledore's body. Remus left without another word or glance in her direction.

Tonks had decided not to run after Remus as he left the infirmary. He probably wanted nothing to do with her - less so now that she'd had that ill-timed outburst in the hospital wing.

Seeking a quiet place to sulk, she found a patch of grass on the lakeshore and concluded it was as good a place as any to cry. She'd only had a few minutes to herself when she suddenly saw Remus approaching her. She was disappointed in herself at the fluttering in her heart when she saw his lanky, limping figure making its way down the front lawn; despite the rejection she still loved him, though she wasn't sure if she was ready to forgive him just yet.

Remus stopped a few feet in front of her. His threadbare robes were torn and dirtied, with trickles of dried blood snaked down his sleeves like tendrils. His face, thin and prematurely lined, sported a new set of shallow lacerations across his cheek, nose, and jaw. Despite his haggard appearance, Tonks longed for him.

"Tonks."

"Go away," she snapped, wiping tears away from her face with her hands. "I get it; you don't want to be with me. You didn't need to come out here to tell me again."

Remus blinked at her rapidly, startled. "I never said I didn't want to be with you."

"You didn't have to. If you had wanted me," Tonks bit her lip, tearing her eyes away from him, "we could've made it work. You didn't even give us a chance."

"I was afraid."

"Was?" Tonks turned her head back to face him. Remus had his hands in his pockets, looking downcast.

"I still am," he mumbled, though he moved closer to meet her along the lakeshore.

"So nothing's changed, has it?"

Remus stood above her, frowning. "You're bleeding."

Tonks glanced at her left shoulder; the tear in her robes exposed a nasty gash that hadn't properly coagulated. When she tore away her gaze from her gash, Remus was no longer standing above her. Instead, he was knee deep in the lake with his trouser legs rolled up.

"What are you doing?" Tonks asked, seeing him tear apart his shirt at the seams.

"Helping you."

Remus dipped a torn sleeve into the water, wrung it, and cast a spell to produce soap out of his wand. Once the sleeve was covered in sudsy water; he returned to her side, holding the foamy fabric up to her gash.

"Don't bother helping me because you feel sorry for me," Tonks fumed.

Remus winced. His hand fell to his side, the wet fabric hanging lamely from his scarred fingers. "It's for the best."

"So now you know what's best for me?" she growled. She tried to turn away from him, but her shoulder stung and she groaned, feeling the throb return.

"Can I do this for you?" said Remus, sighing. "You're in pain."

"Fine." Tonks shrugged off her robe, wincing as the sleeve tugged at her wound. Once the robe was off, Remus sat down and pulled out a tuft of long, green strands from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" questioned Tonks, as he returned to the lake, bent over, and took a handful of water, turning the strands into a paste with it.

"This is horsetail. It'll help stop the bleeding until you can get dittany," replied Remus. "It doesn't work as well as other solutions, but it's an ancient remedy. I've used it before."

Remus carefully pressed the horsetail paste onto her gash. It felt cool and soothing against her skin, but the sensation of his fingers gently working it in made her feel hot and flushed. With his left hand, he snatched one of his ripped, dry shirt sleeves and tied it tightly around her arm.

When he'd finished tying the sleeve, he sat back and asked, "How have you been?"

"You don't give a damn how I've been, Lupin," Tonks said coldly. The scent of the lake water filled her nostrils, the almost sulfuric, acrid smell intermingling with the freshness of the summer grass.

"Yes, I do," he croaked, his voice heavy with emotion.

"You have a funny way of showing it." Tonks' hasty retort was crueler than she intended it. Remus' face fell and he hung his head, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he turned his face away from her.

"I never said I didn't love you, Tonks."

Tonks gawked at him. It was true that he'd never once acted as if he had no feelings for her. Otherwise, why would he have been the only Order member to have actively replied to all her letters, even the ones that sparked disagreements? But would affection be enough to change things between them? Tonks decided it wouldn't. Despite this admission of his affection, she knew nothing would change.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say. She took a deep, steadying breath and asked, "What's the point of telling me you love me, if you can't do anything about it? You don't even want to try!"

"And if….if I did want to try?" Remus whispered, as if he were admitting a shameful secret.

Tonks' heart raced. She didn't dare hope he'd truly changed his mind over beginning a relationship, although the somersaults in her stomach told a different story. Not wanting to scare him off, she murmured, "I thought you said you were too afraid to be with me."

"I'm more afraid of never seeing you again."

"That isn't a good reason for us to be together," Tonks countered. "I don't want to force you to be with me."

Remus took a deep breath. His gaze moved to the Black Lake, which was no longer rippling.

"That's not it at all. I want to be with you. I've never wanted anything - or anyone - so much in my life. But you know I'd only ruin you," Remus said, rambling on, "I can hardly support myself. I'll be nothing but a drain on you and your finances. I'm 13 years your senior. You will outlive me. I'll always be a burden, needing care, and you'll resent me for it. I'm dangerous to myself and to you. I'll ruin you, your career, and I'll constantly be a hazard to your health and safety. I'm a monster! Being with you would mean I finally live up to werewolves' bestial reputation. I can do nothing for you but place you in harm's way. I will destroy you."

His chest heaved with uneven breaths. Tonks gaped at him, speechless.

"I love you too much to do this to you. I can't - not in good conscience." Remus put his hands up to his face, covering it.

Tonks felt a flicker of hope in her chest. "But you do love me?"

Remus wiped something away from his eyes and croaked, "If I loved you any less–"

"Be with me, Remus," Tonks blurted out. "It doesn't have to be so hard."

Remus shook his head slowly. "You'd live a life of fear."

"I've been afraid of losing you for a year," Tonks pleaded, putting her hand on his knee. "I'm more afraid of losing you than I am of losing my job, my money, and my reputation combined."

"Am I worth losing your life over?" Remus said quietly.

"We are worth losing our lives over." Tonks gesticulated wildly between herself and Remus. "I want to live in a world where you and I can be together…where I can love a werewolf without being judged and where a werewolf can love me without fearing for us both. That's what I'm fighting for and if I lose my life because I tried to make our world a better place, then so be it."

Remus' chest rose and fell rapidly. His eyes shone golden in the light of the finally setting sun.

"If…if you're sure, Tonks…I want to try."

"You're not just giving into what I want, are you?" asked Tonks, painfully aware that after her outburst in the hospital wing, he may have felt pressured into being with her.

"I don't want to keep fighting with myself, either," Remus confessed. "This hurt me too - more than I could ever explain."

His warm, tired eyes were full of restrained, silent longing. Tonks extended her arm, and, taking a leap of faith, she placed her hand gently in his.

Remus sighed, his breath hitching in his throat, as he gazed down at their intertwined hands.

"I've never done this before," Remus murmured, slowly moving his thumb against the back of her hand, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Held hands with someone?" Tonks asked and Remus slowly shook his head in response.

"Loved someone the way I love you," he replied, bringing his other hand to rest on top of hers. "It's what terrifies me most, Tonks…losing you. I've lost too many people."

"You won't lose me. I'm tougher than you think," Tonks urged, squeezing his hand tightly. She felt Remus tremble underneath her, his body shivering with the promise of giving into his desires.

"Tell me I'm not being selfish." His voice was thick with emotion and his eyes downcast as he held her hand more tightly. "I don't want to let you go."

"Then don't," Tonks urged. "You can be with me now. It's not selfish to want love and it's not selfish to take it from someone who feels the same. We love each other, Remus, don't you see? This can be simple."

"Simple," Remus repeated faintly, his premature lines no longer rippling his face into fear and worry.

"We'll start like this." Tonks lifted their joined hands in the air triumphantly. "You and I. Us."

Remus nodded and repeated, "Us. Together."

Tonks' smile grew on her face. After a year of separation and denial, they were finally on the same path.