An ornate porcelain teapot hovered above the kitchen table. It was encased in a protective barrier of magic, levitated by Mad-Eye's careful charm. The Order gathered for a last-minute, urgent meeting at Dumbledore's request. Remus's head was spinning; moonrise was mere hours away and he was barely holding himself up, but he was unwilling to miss the meeting.

"Tell us what happened, Tonks," said Dumbledore.

"The teapot arrived at my desk early this morning," replied Tonks. "It was wrapped in this flowery paper and had a note attached, which was written in that wedding card. It didn't have a sender name, and I wasn't alone. I had Proudfoot help me move it to a conference room and when we unwrapped it with a charm and set it down on a table, it melted a hole clean through."

Many around the kitchen table gasped at the seemingly harmless teapot. Tonks pulled out the wedding card from her pocket and passed it around the table. It read, in elegant script, "Tea for two."

"This is my sister's handwriting," Andromeda said, the lacy card shaking in her hand. "I'm positive."

"The curse on it was nasty," said Kingsley, eyes trained on the teapot. "I wouldn't drink out of it or even touch it. The worst of it's gone, but I reckon there's more Dark magic. Whoever sent this to Tonks wanted her dead."

Remus gripped her waist and drew her closer. Not even a month had passed after the mass breakout from Azkaban and Tonks had survived her first assassination attempt.

"This was a death threat," said Tonks. "This wasn't meant to kill me, just scare me."

"Aye," Moody agreed. "Sending a cursed teapot to the Auror office was a fool's errand. She knows about you and wants you to know it." His crooked nose pointed specifically at Remus.

"Could she have done this alone, Andy?" asked Sirius, taking the card from Andromeda. "Narcissa, perhaps?"

"The Malfoys?" Moody asked sharply. Andromeda nodded and turned her face away, leaning into Ted. Alastor set his weathered hands down on the table. "How fast can we get a raid authorized, Kingsley?"

"Not fast enough to avoid suspicion. As soon as we file the paperwork for a search warrant, they'll know."

"Surveillance may be our only option," Dumbledore said, adjusting his half-moon spectacles on his long, crooked nose. "Neither Tonks nor Remus should be assigned to Malfoy Manor . . . Severus, what do you know of the Malfoys' comings and goings?"

"I have every reason to believe they're housing a few escapees," Severus said silkily. "The Dark Lord is not among them. His whereabouts remain unknown to me."

"Thank you, Severus." Dumbledore clasped his hands together and placed them on the table. "Andromeda and Ted, have you taken any precautions for your correspondence?"

While Moody and Kingsley gave his in-laws a list of charms and spells to increase the security on the owls permitted to and from their home, Remus struggled to keep his head up. He wanted to curl up on one of the urine-soaked mattresses in the cellar, wrap himself in a moth-eaten blanket, and await moonrise alone.

"Remus, you look like death," Tonks murmured, rubbing his thigh softly. "Go downstairs. No one's going to—"

He shook his head; he had to stay and find out what would happen. He didn't want to miss a moment that involved a threat to Tonks's life. Instead, he let his head fall into his hands and rested his elbows on the wooden table.

" . . . we treat it as a warning," he heard someone say. "All her mail will be inspected thoroughly. Lestrange won't show her face in public."

Others began arguing. Andromeda's voice was among the loudest, hurting Remus's sensitive ears. He stifled a pained whimper and felt warm, small hands tugging on him.

He was vaguely aware of leaning on Tonks as they stepped down to the cellar. She cast charms upon the surfaces, improving their scents, and gently helped him onto a mattress. The voices were quieter, but still argumentative, and Remus could still hear Andromeda shouting at Dumbledore.

"I should be up there," he mumbled. Tonks's finger covered his lips.

"Mum thinks Dumbledore and Snape are hiding information from the Order," she said quietly. She ran her fingers through Remus's hair, massaging his scalp. "She wants a raid on Malfoy Manor, which isn't the worst idea, but she thinks we can just walk in there and get Bellatrix out." Tonks sighed and cuddled up next to him on the mattress. Her body heat was welcome in the cold, damp cellar.

"'s my fault—"

"—no, Remus, it's not." She cast a Warming Charm over them, which soothed his shivering. "I'm going to go back up and try to calm Mum down. Sirius will be here soon, okay?" He nodded against the mattress, already missing her.

As he heard his mother-in-law express her disappointment over the inaction surrounding Bellatrix Lestrange, Remus felt his mind and heart reeling. He couldn't help but feel responsible for the almost-murder of his wife. Tonks told him repeatedly that she and her family had always been a target for the insatiably bloodthirsty, eldest Black sister. She told him that it wasn't the first time her aunt tried to hurt her, or her father, in order to hurt her mother. Now there was a new target, with Remus, and Tonks denied his presence as making it worse.

Yet Andromeda's worries were well-founded; why send Tonks a wedding card and gift, if not to point out her half-blood niece's marriage to a Dark creature? Why risk being discovered, weeks after escape from prison, if her anger wasn't brimming over the edge, waiting to be unleashed on the newlyweds?

A shallow, fitful sleep fell over him as he pondered his worries. The nightmarish nap lasted until moonrise, interrupted occasionally by the sounds coming from upstairs. By the time his bones shook and snapped with the full moon, the argumentation had vanished. It was replaced by his own excruciating screams.


Walking into Diagon Alley a week after February's full moon was a welcome change for Remus. He hadn't seen the sun in days. He'd torn himself apart the night of the Order meeting and was levitated, unconscious, by Sirius and Tonks. Following the bloodshed, Tonks insisted they begin paying for Wolfsbane Potion. Remus was loath to hand over the gold, but with no housing expenses, Tonks could afford it.

Having a few extra coins of his own, Remus stopped by Flourish and Blotts first. There was a new trilogy on Arthurian legends, complete with moving illustrations, which he thought Tonks might enjoy. She enjoyed reading with him in bed, or in front of the fire, and he was glad to indulge in the shared activity by adding to their repertoire. After buying the three-volume set, he had it wrapped nicely, as a gift.

(He was reminded that Valentine's Day was coming up, and he thought Tonks would enjoy the whimsical wrapping.)

The reminder led him to Honeydukes next. He picked up a box of white chocolate and raspberry truffles and two slabs of their finest chocolate. He pictured Tonks savoring the truffles, one by one, as he read to her in the library. She'd sit between his legs and lay her back on his chest, and perhaps she'd feed him one or two. The image was very pleasant, and he cheerfully asked for gift-wrapping on the chocolates as well.

The lightheartedness of the excursions to the bookshop and the chocolatier disappeared when he remembered why he was in Diagon Alley. He turned south and walked to his next destination.

Slug & Jitters Apothecary was the nicer of the two apothecaries in the shopping district, and it was luckily empty when Remus walked in.

A clerk was at the counter, waiting for him.

"Hello. I'm interested in purchasing Wolfsbane Potion," said Remus, setting his shopping bags down on the ground. "A full dose, please."

"Seven-day supply will cost 210 Galleons," the clerk replied, putting his meaty hands on the counter. "Still want it?"

"I do."

"Half the gold now, if you will," said the clerk. "It's policy for potions over 100 Galleons."

Remus reluctantly handed over a sack full of gold. He waited impatiently as the clerk counted out 105 coins and stowed them in a safe.

"Be right back."

The clerk went through a set of swinging doors and Remus waited at the till, a mild headache forming as the scents of ingredients wafted through the air. He grimaced, reminded of his school days in the dungeon, where any potions class was enough to give him a migraine.

While he waited, the apothecary door flew open. Two crimson-clad figures were walking towards him, and in the blink of an eye, he was disarmed and felt the cold metal of handcuffs around his wrists.

"What the—"

"—you're under arrest," said one of the figures. Remus squinted and recognized the DMLE's crest on the wizard's robes. Underneath it, the patch read "Magical Law Enforcement Squad."

"I haven't done anything wrong!" Remus cried, struggling against the witch and wizard.

"Theft and escape from the encampment, werewolf," said the witch. "Don't make us use lethal force."

Remus shut his mouth, humiliated, and let himself be hauled out of the apothecary. Witches and wizards stopped to stare, point, or jeer at him. Shackles appeared around his ankles, restricting his movement. He tried to wandlessly break the chains, but they were charmed against the use of magic.

"You're coming to the Ministry first," the wizard told him. "The camp if you're lucky—"

"—Azkaban if you're not!" the witch laughed. Remus felt their hands close around his wrists, and a suffocating moment later, he was at the Ministry of Magic's visitor entrance. The two workers gave him a badge that read 'WEREWOLF' in large, angry red letters. They didn't bother asking for his name.

It was another degrading spectacle, being walked through the Atrium with his lycanthropy badge on display for everyone to see. He was shackled and prodded, being tugged from one spot to the next, his face burning with shame that this was happening to him. Not a single familiar face passed by.

He was thrown about the lift, the two squad workers uncaring that the shackles were digging into his recently healed flesh, and then chucked into a dingy, dark holding cell and left alone.

Unable to get up, he curled up on the grimy tile floor and waited. Surely someone like Tonks or Kingsley would come for him. They had to. They simply had to.

Hours dragged by and no one came. He could only tell the passage of time from the grubby window above, which was charmed by Magical Maintenance to show the sun's movement from east to west.

Remus began to think that no one would come for him. Perhaps, after all the trouble he'd brought onto Tonks's life, she was done with their charade. Yes, they liked each other, their bedroom activities were indescribably good, and they got on well enough. But he wondered if it was enough to make up for the difficulties of being associated with him.

He'd promised her father that he would stay—and after knowing what it was like to be with a woman as unattainable (in usual circumstances) as Tonks—Remus did intend to stay. He felt drawn to her like a moth to flame, or like a fish to water. He would be a happy man indeed if she let him drown in her presence for the rest of his days.

"WHERE IS HE?"

Remus was roused from his half-conscious listlessness at the sound of shouting.

"REMUS!" The bars clinked open and Tonks was on the floor, uncuffing him and lifting him up. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"Fine, and sore," he groaned. "I'll live." His neck was aching from lying on the ground with nothing to support his head; the rest of his recently healed muscles would be protesting soon.

"They had no right to arrest you," she growled, taking his wand out of her pocket and handing it to him. "Question you, yes. Demand identification, also yes. Arrest you, absolutely-fucking-not. And no one told me until ten minutes ago that there was a werewolf in our holding cells waiting for interrogation! They just let you lie here for seven bloody hours!"

Remus winced when he looked down at his wrists and ankles. They were covered in raw, angry welts from the rubbing of the shackles against his skin.

"We're going to go home soon—I just need a few minutes to scare the shit out of some squad officers—"

"—no," Remus pled, longing for potions to alleviate his aching body. "Let's go home. I don't want to be here."

Tonks stared at him for a few seconds, her gaze both pitiful and tender, and helped him off the floor. Remus's ankles burned as he walked. He felt a sprain in one of them, and he limped on his way out of the DMLE and up to the Atrium.

He went through one of the Floos to Grimmauld Place and fell into the closest chair, wincing as a splinter from the wooden table caught his irritated wrists.

The fire lit up and Tonks came through with a jar of Dittany. She didn't take her robes or boots off; she jumped right into action and started working the salve into Remus's torn flesh. His skin hissed and sizzled as it healed.

"What happened?"

Remus answered her question with a brief account of his time at the apothecary. Her hair and face grew fiery red as he explained the sudden, confusing arrest.

"I looked at the record—the wankers who did this were told that you'd escaped from the werewolf camp, stolen the Galleons, and threatened the clerk with a bite if he didn't comply. Utter tosh, all of it."

"They believed it," Remus murmured, unsurprised.

"Idiots."

Tonks rolled her eyes and held one of Remus's wrists in her hand. She flicked her wand at one of the cupboards and one of the stronger Pain Relief Potions flew out. Remus caught it before it smashed against a wall, unstoppered it, and drank half its contents.

"I'll get the gold back and send mum to get the potion instead," Tonks continued, "I'd have gone, but mum's got that whole thing about me being murdered, which is stupid—"

"—she's right to be concerned, Tonks." Remus wiped his mouth with his sleeve and let his head rest in his other hand.

Tonks's eyes narrowed and her forehead creased. "You'd rather be arrested and spend the day in the darkest corner of the holding cells, than have me change my face and get the potion you need?"

Remus shook his head and shuddered, his body spasming from laying in one position for so long.

"I don't want to fight," he said, taking her hand. "Let me be worried about you." His stomach rumbled loudly. Tonks looked down at their joined hands and let out an irritated huff.

"Okay. We won't fight. I'm just tired, Remus. Tired of stupid Bellatrix and mum's worries, tired of the way you're treated, and tired of living in this haunted house—" She leaned forward and pressed her head against Remus's chest. "—you know what I mean?"

He understood. She was growing tired of him and of their life together. She didn't know, or couldn't know, how his heart began breaking. She couldn't know that inside his mind, he was preparing for the day when she would tell him it was over, that she couldn't do it anymore. It was painful, having her head on his chest, so close and so intimate, like they belonged together.

He would stay and enjoy what time he had left with her. One day, sooner rather than later, reality would catch up with her and he'd no longer need to inconvenience her with his existence.

"Er, I almost forgot," Tonks said, smiling weakly. She pulled out two parcels from her robe pockets. They were battered, torn, and a third of the size of what they formerly were. She tapped her wand on them and the packages grew to their original size. Holding a palm to his face, she asked, "Did you get these things for me?"

Remus closed his eyes and nodded. He felt overwhelmingly stupid for getting her gifts. As if a set of books and boxes of chocolate could overcome the lifetime of embarrassment he'd brought upon her!

Tonks unwrapped the tattered paper on the larger of the two gifts and gasped.

"These are beautiful, Remus! Look, the paper's gold on the edges—and oh, the illustrations are charmed!" Remus dared to open an eyelid. Tonks was grinning at him, her face adorably rosy and bright. "Thank you, sweetheart. This is just what I needed after a day like today. After we eat something, will you read to me? If you're not too tired?"

Remus would give her anything she asked of him. He gladly agreed to read to her, and watched her open the Honeydukes packages. She clapped her hands to her mouth and peered up at him through her pink fringe.

"Brilliant man!" She kissed him and unwrapped the box containing the truffles. After putting one in her mouth, she mmmed and smacked her lips. "You've got to have one—they're so good!"

She took another and placed it on Remus's lips. He opened his mouth and let her fingers brush his skin as he took a bite. The sweet white chocolate and tangy raspberry swirled on his tongue, and when the rich dark chocolate mingled with it, he made his own satisfied sounds.

"Good, isn't it?"

Tonks grinned and put the lid back on the box of truffles. She reached back over to kiss him, letting him have another taste of the sugariness from their chocolates when his tongue briefly met hers. She let go and repackaged the parcels in a neat pile, telling him to stay where he was so she could heat up their dinner.

As he watched her putter about the kitchen, the taste of chocolate and her sweetness still in his mouth, he promised himself he'd cherish every memory she gave him. One day, when she finally had enough of him and left him, he'd have something wonderful to look back upon.