Tonks took a deep breath as she and Remus emerged from the castle. The grounds were deserted, with Hagrid having moved Dumbledore's body and the students safely locked away in their common rooms. Tonks glanced in the direction where the Death Eaters had disappeared, but there were no signs of them. They'd achieved what they'd come to the school to do. There was no reason for them to come back. Not yet.
She turned back to look at Remus. He was upset about Dumbledore like they all were, but she could already tell that his death had shaken Remus in a different way than Sirius' had. He hadn't hid himself away from everyone. He had even agreed to talk to her alone. Tonks' heart pounded in her chest. For nearly a year, she had wanted exactly this, and now that it was here, she knew how high the stakes were for this conversation.
"I know I've said this a million times already," she said, fixing Remus with an intense stare, "but I don't care. I don't care that you're a werewolf. I don't care how old you are, and I'll keep saying that until you believe me."
Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's not that I don't believe you. I do." He turned from her to keep walking, but he kept his pace slow, making it easy for her to keep up. "What I find hard to believe is that you would still be as nonchalant about it once you become a target for their hatred too. You don't know what it's like to grow up as a werewolf. I'm not sure that you really understand how people would treat you for being with me. If you see it for yourself, you might change your mind."
Tonks had half a mind to grab ahold of him again and make him see things how she did, but that wasn't really an option. "Remus, I'm a bisexual metamorphmagus who usually has pink hair. I don't care about what other people think."
He grinned in spite of himself but was quick to shake his head. "It's different when it comes to lycanthropes. People treat us differently. We're less than human, and if we were partners, they'd see you that way too."
"The people who matter wouldn't." She stepped into his path, forcing him to come to a stop and look at her. "Can't you trust me to decide for myself whether or not I'm willing to put up with it? Because I've been trying to tell you for a year that I am."
He swallowed, looking out at the grounds over her head.
Tonks took a deep breath. "Can you just answer one question for me before you say anything else?" she asked. He looked down at her with one eyebrow raised. "Do you even want to be with me? If we ignored everything else, including your condition, would you want to be with me?"
"Yes," he said shakily.
He looked guilty for the answer, and Tonks wanted nothing more to wrap him in a hug. She couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"Then, please, Remus, give us a chance. Everything else in the world is a disaster." She grabbed hold of the front of his robes again but with less force than she'd used in the hospital wing. "Can we at least try to hold onto what happiness we can get?"
For a moment, she wasn't sure what answer he'd give. She was prepared to tug on his robes again and beg when he finally answered.
"Okay."
She stared up at him, momentarily dumbfounded by the answer. Slowly, she started nodding her head. "Okay?"
Remus smiled, and Tonks' heart soared.
"Okay," he confirmed.
Tonks pulled him into a kiss, hardly able to believe what was happening. He tugged her close, and for a moment, she could almost forget the past year.