A/N: So... uh... hi.

Welcome to the first chapter of Not Going Anywhere in a year and a half.

Here's what happened:

By the time chapter 17 of NGA was posted, I was struggling a bit with my mental health. I just couldn't keep up posting a multichapter. I was struggling to write anything, but writing this chapter wound up being the moment where I couldn't take it anymore. As you're going to see, this chapter includes Remus's grief over Sirius's death, and with my mind in the state it was at the time, I just couldn't handle it. So I kept staring at the document for ages unable to write until I eventually told myself I needed to take a break and stop trying to write it all together for a bit.

Since I last updated this, I also stopped posting most of my works here. Only ones for a couple of challenge forums are on FFnet now. That means this will likely be my last chaptered fic on FFnet, which is a little bittersweet, but I will be finishing it here. So yay!

Meeting Molly at the Burrow was strange to Tonks. She had come to know the woman as a fixture of Grimmauld Place, and despite being aware of the Burrow all along, watching the woman move through her home's kitchen as if it were second nature felt wrong.

The Burrow was as charming as Tonks had been led to believe from the stories she'd heard, but it wasn't familiar. Tonks only knew what the kitchen looked like, but she knew the house had once been full of life that it no longer possessed.

"It hasn't been easy," Molly was saying as she sat a cup of tea in front of Tonks. "I'm glad that Fred and George have been successful in making their dreams come true, but having them out of my sight for days at a time just as things are getting worse. Especially when Diagon Alley is such an easy target… It's hard to handle."

"I can only imagine," Tonks said.

She clutched the teacup tightly, but its warmth didn't penetrate the chill that had settled deep in her bones.

"Be thankful for that," Molly muttered with a smile.

It wasn't said in a sharp tone that others might have used, taking out some of their pain on others. It was only filled with compassion and a sense of gratitude on Tonk's behalf. She squeezed Tonk's shoulder as she passed by to sit across from her.

"But everyone is safe for now. That's all I can ask for. To tell you the truth, I've been more worried about Remus the past few days than any of my children."

Tonks stiffened.

"Why?"

Molly frowned in confusion.

"No one's seen him since Sirius's death. I'm worried he's making it worse on himself by not letting any of us support him through it. The poor man doesn't deserve everything he puts on himself. I know he'd never ask us for help, but if he did, we have more than enough space for him to stay here."

Tonks hardly heard Molly's offer of a free room to live in. She hadn't heard from Kingsley since he'd left her parents' house, but she had hoped that was because he'd forgotten his promise to keep her updated, not because he knew as little about Remus' whereabouts as she did.

"Do you think he's at Grimmauld Place?" Tonks asked, interrupting Molly's continued rambling about ways she wished she could help Remus if only he'd come to her.

Molly paused, her mouth hanging open for a moment before she regathered her thoughts.

"Perhaps," she said slowly, "but I'd have expected someone to know if he was. Dumbledore doesn't want us going there right now. He hasn't discussed Harry's inheritance with him, and he's worried Bellatrix Lestrange will try to take the house. She shouldn't be able to get past the Fidelius Charm of course, but it's always better safe than sorry in times like this. Remus would be the last person I'd expect to disobey Dumbledore's wishes."

Molly may have been certain of that, but Tonks wasn't. She could easily imagine him going there, locking himself up in Sirius's bedroom, and refusing to leave. It's what Tonks would have done. Besides, whatever Dumbledore said about caution, Tonks knew that no one would get through the charms on the place.

"Wherever he is, he doesn't want to be found," Molly said with a shake of her head. "I wish he wouldn't isolate himself like this, but we have to give him time. We can't afford to hunt him down in a time like this."

Tonks pushed away her half-finished cup of tea.

"I'm sorry, Molly, but I need to go."

Molly gave her a sympathetic smile and a nod. With a wave of her wand, the cup floated into the sink and began washing itself.

"Of course," she said. "Take care of yourself."

Tonks gave the older woman a smile and a short hug before she left, wondering if Molly suspected what she was up to. Something about the way she patted her on the back as she pulled away certainly made it seem that way.

She had hardly made it past the Burrow's gate before she Apparated into the familiar alleyway not far from Grimmauld Place.

Looking up at the building, she was hit by a warmth the Burrow hadn't provided despite being, objectively, a friendlier place. Grimmauld Place's dark and foreboding exterior no longer left Tonks feeling put off, but the knowledge of what might have been happening inside certainly did.

She approached the house with her Auror-trained senses on high alert, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary. It was the same as it had been the last time she'd visited. It angered her in a way that she hadn't been prepared for.

Sirius was gone. Everything about his former home should have felt different, even if he'd loathed the place. It wasn't fair for the house to continue existing as it always had.

When she opened the door, she was confronted with the umbrella stand in the same place it always was. Tonks suppressed the urge to kick it. She shifted into Auror-mode as she stepped carefully down the hall, past Walburga Black's portrait, and up the stairs. There was no sign of Remus, but somehow, Tonks knew he was upstairs. She chose to believe it was because of her Auror training and not her own feelings for him that made her so sure of it.

When she reached the topmost landing, the door to Sirius' bedroom was firmly shut. Tonks had never had a reason to enter the room before, yet her eyes stung at the sight of the old nameplate on the door. She froze when she heard the sobs coming from within the room.

If Remus knew she was there, then he was too far gone to compose himself. She'd never seen Remus anything less than calm, and hearing evidence of how he was feeling already made her feel worse. Her hand shook as she raised it to knock against the door.

The sobbing stopped the second she made noise. Tonks held her breath until the door was tugged open and a red-eyed Remus stood in front of her. Tonks gasped. Her imaginings of what state Remus was in couldn't compete with the reality of him in front of her. She extended her arms to hug him, but he took a step back as she took one forward.

"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice straining as if he hadn't spoken in days but had cried nonstop for the same length of time.

"No one's seen you in days," Tonks snapped, suddenly feeling angry as the full reality of the situation hit her. "I was worried about you! I wanted to check that everything was okay."

Remus avoided her gaze. Stepping away from the door, he perched himself on the edge of the bed. The sheets were a mess, and Tonks had a feeling they hadn't been that way when Sirius had last left the room. When she came closer, she saw the dark patches left by tears on one of the pillows.

"I'm fine," Remus said, even as every piece of evidence pointed to the contrary. "You don't need to check on me."

Tonks ignored him and sat down beside him on the bed. She wrapped her arms around him before he protested again, squeezing him tightly. He collapsed in her embrace, sobs wracking his body. Tonks only held him closer.

It was the most they'd ever touched. Tonks hated that, in such a raw moment, that was the first thought she had. She wished that it had taken anything but Sirius' death for it to happen.

"I can't even imagine how hard this must be for you," she told him, her voice shaking as she spoke. "I know you and Sirius were close—"

Remus' dark laugh cut her off. Tonks took a shaky breath.

"There's no one else in this world that I trusted as much as I did Sirius," Remus admitted.

Tonks froze, her grip on Remus slipping. She would have guessed as much herself of course, but she never would have expected Remus to be open with her about it. It simultaneously hurt her and warmed her heart.

"I know," she whispered. "In my whole life… I've never had what you and Sirius did with anyone."

Remus looked up at her, tears dripping down his cheeks. They made eye contact, and in that moment, Tonks knew that her suspicions about the nature of Remus and Sirius's relationship were correct. She also knew that Remus was aware of what she'd figured out, but neither of them said anything. It wouldn't have made a difference if they did. Sirius was gone no matter what they said.

"Would talking about him help you feel better?" Tonks asked.

The answer didn't come immediately. Remus's gaze roved over the room until it landed on an old photograph that had been charmed to the wall. It was of a much younger Remus and Sirius with their Hogwarts friends. Tonks was as mesmerized by it as Remus was, though she knew they were looking at different people. The sight of Sirius squeezed at her heart, but she quickly moved on to staring at a much younger and healthier looking Remus. There were fewer visible scars, and the dark circles that always lined his eyes were nowhere to be seen.

Some of it was undoubtedly youth, but she wondered how much of it was the fact that he hadn't yet lost Sirius to Azkaban.

"Do you know why Sirius became an animagus?" Remus asked, bringing Tonks crashing back down to earth.

"I assumed he thought it would be cool," she admitted. "It seemed like a Sirius-like thing to do: become an animagus so you can brag about it."

Remus smirked even as his eyes shone with tears. "Can't do that much bragging when it could get you thrown in Azkaban."

Tonks shrugged. "Sirius would find a way. And did, I'm sure."

Remus laughed and nodded before his face fell again.

"That's all true, but he became an animagus to help me. Him, James, and Peter all did. They couldn't be with me on the full moon as humans, but werewolves don't go after other animals."

She remembered it once Remus reminded her. Sirius had mentioned it to her in such an offhand way, like it was nothing, so at the time, she'd taken it that way. It wasn't until Remus was telling the story that the full weight of what Sirius and their friends had done to help a friend at such a young age hit her.

Tonks placed a hand on Remus' shoulder. Though she had hugged him just minutes before, this felt heavier than that. He stiffened under her for only a second before relaxing, though he didn't look at her for longer than a second or two at a time.

"I didn't know him as long as I wished to," she said, "but I do know that he was an incredibly kind-hearted person. We were all lucky to have known him."

Despite the truth of the words, Tonks felt like she was delivering empty well wishes of the kind given when one doesn't know what else to say. She wished she could better convey just how much she meant everything that she'd said, but Remus gave her a brief smile like he understood. That would be enough.

"None of us got him for long," Remus said. "First Azkaban. Now this. I knew there was a war and that no one was safe, but I really let myself believe...after last time...that he would stick around for good this time."

Tonks removed her hand in favour of wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Remus leant against her easily. Tonks knew it would only last so long. Eventually, the bubble of grief they were in would burst, and she didn't know what her relationship with Remus would look like when it did, but she would take it one step at a time.

"It's unfair," she said. "At least we still have each other. That's something."

As soon as the words were out, she wanted to hit herself on the forehead. It sounded so insensitive! Like she was minimizing Remus' pain by reminding him of other people, of herself, but Remus didn't act like he saw it that way. He smiled at her.

"We do," he agreed. "Thank you, Tonks. As much as I wanted to be left alone, having you here helped."

She beamed back and took the opening that had presented itself.

"You can't stay here alone. It's not good for you. This place was questionable before, but now, with everyone gone…"

Remus snorted. "Where else can I go? Unless Dumbledore sends me to the werewolves again, I don't have a place to stay."

Tonks didn't take a second to consider it.

"You can stay with me. I have an extra bedroom. There's plenty of space. Not as much as Grimmauld Place maybe, but there's also far less useless junk. I think there's enough room for the two of us at least."

His smile fell, and Tonks knew she was losing him. She kept going before he could reject her.

"You've already been here by yourself for days. It's not good for anyone to go through something like this alone with only a screeching portrait and a muttering house elf for company."

She watched as he debated with himself. He was reluctant, but she saw the moment he made his decision, and it took all of Tonks' strength not to cheer.

"Okay," he said. "As long as you won't tire of me."

"Never," Tonks pledged. And she meant it.