Bellatrix's cruel cackle echoed throughout the Time Turner Room. Ted's body hit the floor with a crunch, crushing hunks of glass and thick grains of sand with its weight, while Andromeda dropped to her knees, screaming. Dolohov had his wand raised, a flare of green sparks aimed at her.
"Avada—"
"NO!" Bellatrix shrieked, blasting Dolohov back. "HER BRAT!"
Remus, crouched under a wobbly surface, felt his heart stop. Not Tonks. Andromeda flinched, pausing briefly from her grief, and peered up at her sneering sister.
"It's time to prune the family tree, Annie!" Bellatrix laughed and ran out of the Time Turner room, with Dolohov on her heels and Remus seemingly forgotten after Ted's murder.
"Save her!" Andromeda cried. Remus came out from his hiding place and didn't look back. He rushed after Bellatrix and Dolohov, and seeing the ends of Dolohov's cloak whip out from an open door, Remus sprinted across the dais to enter the room.
A sizzling cord of purple light shot out from his left. Remus dodged the curse, unsure of his assailant. He cast Protego after Protego, ducking behind blasted stones, searching for his wife. There was an explosion near the dais; Remus saw a tuft of black hair roll away. Neville Longbottom's face emerged through the rubble. Harry was next to him, both boys panting, with blood leaking out of Neville's mouth.
There were more Death Eaters below. Lucius Malfoy was among them, but he staggered as a spell hit his chest. Across the room, Kingsley was dueling two at once, and then a pink head stood out.
"STUPEFY!" Tonks shouted, pointing her wand down at Bellatrix. Alastor was there too, bleeding from the head and his magical eye lopsided, but he was fighting Macnair and Rookwood and struggling to maintain balance on the jagged stone.
Remus noticed a scuffle. Harry, Neville, and a masked Death Eater were wrestling. Neville stuck his wand into the eye slit of the Death Eater, causing him to howl, and then Dolohov was there, slashing Harry across the face.
"Potter, give me the—"
Remus jumped down the steps and blasted Dolohov back into a wall. A silvery orb was just barely in Harry's grasp. He whipped around to meet Harry and Neville's stunned expressions and grabbed Harry's shoulder.
"Harry, GO!"
"But—"
Harry's eyes darted past Remus and Neville pointed, trying to speak, but his swollen lip and face made it hard to understand what he was saying. Remus instinctively drew his arms back, protecting them, and found Malfoy had stirred from his place. Malfoy drew back his wand, a growl on his lips. A Killing Curse came from the left; Remus swerved, missing it by inches, taking the boys down with him. Then a purple flare emerged from where Malfoy stood, and before Remus had a chance to react, casting a Protego on Harry and Neville first, Harry petrified Malfoy. His limbs snapped together and he went backwards, falling on his back with a thud. With the momentary respite, Remus helped Harry and Neville to their feet.
"Harry, excellent," Remus panted, casting another Protego to shield them and a limping Neville from hexes flying their way. "Get out of here—leave now!"
"The prophecy—" Harry began to protest, but a shriek from behind them put all thoughts of the prophecy out of Remus's mind.
Bellatrix was screaming with glee. A jet of sizzling green light came their way, and Remus ducked, taking Harry and Neville with him to the floor again. Remus cast Confringo to blast stone in Bellatrix's direction, obscuring their location.
"Get the others and go—" Remus ordered. "You need to get to safety, Harry—forget the prophecy, GO!"
As the dust cleared, Remus noticed Harry's eyes widen. He turned his head to see what Harry was watching. Tonks and Bellatrix were dueling; Killing Curses flew and Tonks was barely missing them, her life hanging in the balance.
Not Tonks. Remus's mouth grew dry. He expected Harry could hold his own for a moment, but Neville could die. Remus would be unbearably guilty for Neville's death, but if he lost Tonks, if Andromeda lost her only daughter—
Kingsley came out of nowhere and grabbed Harry and Neville by the scruffs of their necks, sparing Remus from an agonizing decision.
"GET OUT!" he bellowed at them. With Kingsley taking charge of the boys, Remus hurtled forward to protect his wife.
He blasted away anything or anyone who got in his way as he crossed the Death Room. Hunks of stone and smoky ash were no match for him; neither were the curses that flew over his head. His only goal, even if he should die, was to keep Tonks alive.
Bellatrix was quick on her feet and Tonks was slowing.
"Crucio!"
Tonks let out a horrifying scream when the Torture Curse hit her body. Remus sent a Stupefy at Bellatrix, knocking her off her feet, giving Tonks the chance to get back up.
"YOU!" Bellatrix howled, turning on Remus. The Killing Curse formed on her tongue. Tonks, shaky and pale, sent Bellatrix back with a well-placed Knockback Jinx. Remus leapt up the stone steps while Bellatrix was slightly disoriented and joined Tonks.
"Remus! She wants to kill—"
"I know!" A ribbon of red whizzed past his ear.
He cast a Colloshoo at Travers, his assailant, sticking him to the ground, and then a rapid Confundo, confusing the Death Eater. Feet away, Alastor lay unmoving, a pool of blood forming under his torso; Rookwood and Macnair came in Remus's direction, snarling and looking hungry. Below, a bleeding Dolohov had advanced toward the dais, where Kingsley was holding him and Malfoy off. Harry and Neville were nowhere to be found.
Bellatrix was back in action, her eyes shining with rage, and was only casting Killing Curses. Remus alternated between jinxes and Protegos, struggling to fight Macnair and Rookwood, protect Tonks, and keep Travers at bay. Beads of sweat ran down his face. He wheezed, desperate for help. For the first time he wished Sirius had come with them. It was six on three, and the three Order members standing were growing weaker.
Then the door to the Death Room burst open and a resplendent figure walked in. Everyone but Bellatrix was briefly distracted by Dumbledore's arrival. Time slowed as Remus felt the relief of a powerful ally. He breathed in, watched Dumbledore aim his wand at Dolohov and Malfoy, and then heard the Killing Curse.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Time ceased to matter. Remus heard the curse from behind him, screeched by Bellatrix, knowing it could only be aimed at one person. He leapt and pushed Tonks out of the way of the stream of green light. Her horrified face was the last thing he remembered before he heard an unnatural snap of breaking bones, and felt consciousness leave his body.
A gentle tickle made Remus's nose twitch. He tried moving his arm, but it was stuck to his side in a sling.
"You're okay, you're okay—" Tonks's raspy, but soothing voice brought his attention to the mousy brown strands dusting his nose. A sound somewhere between a yelp and a whimper came out of his mouth.
"Finally, Merlin's balls, Remus, you're up!"
His eyes registered his surroundings. He wasn't in the Death Room anymore, but on the floor of a carpeted room with walls covered in Ministry memos and wanted Death Eaters' pictures growling down at him.
"Eurgh," he groaned, wincing at the pain radiating through his arm and chest.
"Blink twice if you understand what I'm saying—I can't stay for long, okay?" Remus blinked twice and saw Tonks shudder, relieved. "I don't know everything that's happened, but mum and Sirius are being interrogated. Bellatrix is dead—mum killed her. They told me someone else died, but wouldn't tell me who . . . fuck, it'd kill me if it was Mad-Eye, he was dragged away on a stretcher."
Remus's gut churned. If Mad-Eye was taken on a stretcher, he was probably still alive. He'd seen Ted Tonks die before his eyes in the Time Turner Room. He couldn't be the one to tell her.
"You're in bad shape. You almost took the Killing Curse, but Sirius showed up and flung a huge stone, boulder more like, between you and the curse, but it broke half your bones on impact. St. Mungo's wouldn't take you, not with your—"
Tonks shook and grabbed the front of his robes, wetness gathering in her eyes. "Dad wasn't available, otherwise I'd have had him here, so Kings and I did what we could. You're in his office." She bit her lower lip and released her grip on his robes. "Blink twice, please? If you followed all that?" Remus did as he was told. He felt sore all over, pain radiating from most of his muscles. It felt like the morning after a full moon, but he had the benefit of having been unconscious from the battle.
"How could you do that to me?" she suddenly demanded, clutching his torn robes tighter. "You could have died! Don't you realize how much I—how much—" Her chin quivered and she looked away.
Remus furrowed his brow. It was obvious why he threw himself in front of a Killing Curse for her. It was the same reason Ted Tonks gave his life for Andromeda. Surely Tonks knew how desperately in love he was with her. Yet, as she wiped the moisture away from her eyes, he realized he'd never told her.
He could have died, having never told her that she'd stolen his heart completely, that the mutual affection and pleasure they shared was everything he'd never known he could have. He could've died without telling her that he loved her more than anyone he'd ever known, that she was the woman of his dreams, and she'd given him more happiness than he deserved.
Remus hitched his breath and felt searing pain in his side as he tried to sit up.
"T-tonks," he croaked, "I love . . . I love . . . I love you. That's . . . why." He couldn't stay up any longer without the pain blinding him. Tonks let his head fall into her lap and cradled his shoulders. He could die now, in her arms, having told her how he felt.
"I love you, Remus, I can't lose you—" She kissed his forehead and held him, her mousy brown hair falling into his eyes, but he didn't care. No one had ever told him those words, not like this—
Light emerged from the other side of the office. Remus tilted his head up, failing to see anything, but Tonks gently let his torso back down on the carpet and tenderly brushed his hair back from his forehead. Remus saw two shadows along the wall.
"Mum, Sirius!"
"Nymphadora," Andromeda said shakily, "I need to speak with you."
Tonks was up and walking away from Remus. "What did they say at your interrogation? You won't get in trouble for killing her, will you?"
"No, sweetheart, this is . . . this is something else. Is there another office?" Andromeda's voice broke.
"Er, yeah—"
"I'll stay with Moony," said Sirius. "You go, Tonks."
Tonks came back to Remus, kissed his cheek, and promised to come back as soon as she could. She swept out of the room with her mother and her sweet face was replaced with Sirius's brooding one.
"Can you talk much?" A garbled "no" sat limply on Remus's lips. Sirius shrugged and continued, "They let me off. I'm cleared of all charges. Harry's still got to go to Petunia's for a few weeks." A bitter sigh followed. "Andy's getting a slap on the wrist for killing Bella. She used an old Black family curse, a nasty one at that, to snap her sister's neck."
"Harry?" Remus mustered.
"Long story," Sirius said, not quite meeting Remus's eyes. "He and the others are back at Hogwarts. Dumbledore's been reinstated, Umbridge's out, and Fudge saw Voldemort. Everyone knows he's back."
Remus's tongue and lips felt swollen. He hadn't forgotten what Tonks told him. "You saved me."
"Tonks would've been devasted if she lost you too." Sirius swept back his black, glossy hair and cleared his throat. "You would've done the same for me. We're the last ones left." Remus wanted to shake Sirius's hand, if not put his hand on his shoulder, out of gratitude, but he couldn't move. "Besides," Sirius added, "you—"
The door creaked open and Tonks made it to the floor in time to wrack with sobs, clutching Remus's robes in her grief. Remus saw Andromeda, her cheeks tearstained and wiping her nose, in a similar state. Sirius took off and wrapped his arms around her. Remus could barely move, and though it ached to have Tonks's weight on his chest, he couldn't fault her for grieving her father's death.
There was little else that Remus could offer Tonks but his presence and lame attempts to say anything intelligible. She had lost her father, and no words or actions could make up for Ted Tonks, not even his paltry I love yous.
The funeral was held five days later. Remus could stand and walk, but he'd been plied with Strengthening Solution, Pain Relief Potion, and an Invigoration Potion to manage his pain. He was caught between the injuries of the battle at the Department of Mysteries and a full moon only days away.
One of Ted's coworkers took pity on Remus and provided a free examination after the funeral, and that afternoon, a package of hospital-strength painkillers appeared at the Tonkses' home, where Andromeda and Tonks were attempting to sort through the flowers and condolence letters sent to them in the last week.
Sirius was there too, enjoying his newfound freedom by providing his company to his cousins. With almost no Tonkses left to mourn Ted's loss, and Andromeda's family in tatters, Sirius stepped in to help. Remus expected it also had to do with the row Sirius and Kingsley had over Sirius's involvement at the Ministry, but as Andromeda needed the support, Remus said nothing about it.
He sat down in the living room and placed his cup of tea on an end table, with that morning's Prophet tucked under his arm. The front page held a large picture of Cornelius Fudge, with the headline reading "FLUSTERED MINISTER MAKES A STATEMENT!" Half the page was an exposé on Fudge's failures in the last year, including the massive amount of gold that Sirius was paid in reparations for his wrongful arrest, and speculations on his ignorance of Voldemort's activity. The next page was devoted to the ousting of Dolores Umbridge as High Inquisitor and the reinstatement of Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster. The following pages detailed the arrests and sentences of the Death Eaters captured at the Ministry.
Almost all the escaped Death Eaters, with the addition of Lucius Malfoy, were sent to Azkaban. Only the Lestrange brothers remained at large. Bellatrix's death was announced, though the newspaper only mentioned she had died 'in battle,' without mentioning Andromeda's name. Remus worried for his mother-in-law. Bellatrix was among Voldemort's favorites, and if Andromeda had been the one to kill her and Voldemort found out . . . a shiver went down his spine. Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to kill in revenge.
"Hello, love," Tonks said softly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Her eyes and nose were puffy and pink, and she hugged herself, looking small.
"Come here," said Remus, setting his newspaper down and taking her hand. She sat on his lap and curled up into his chest. Though uncomfortable, Remus wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"
"Is that okay?"
"I don't mind. Your mum will appreciate it."
"We can sleep in my old room."
Remus held in his sigh. It was the hottest room in the house. Sirius came around and sat opposite them, in what used to be Ted's favorite chair.
"I invited Andy to stay with us at Grimmauld Place."
Tonks lifted her face from Remus's chest. "You did? Why?"
Remus met Sirius's gaze, which flicked down to the newspaper. Sirius cleared his throat and replied, "It's only a matter of time until Voldemort figures out it was your mother who killed his favorite Death Eater. She shouldn't stay here much longer."
"Mum's not safe here?" Tonks trained her eyes on her mother, who sat in the kitchen, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders as she bent over, writing thank you letters. "What about the Fidelius Charm?"
"Muggles would notice," Remus said quietly. "A home can't just disappear overnight."
Tonks frowned and ran her finger down his sternum. If he wasn't so sore and she wasn't grieving—but he shook his head and returned to the conversation.
"So mum will move in with us?"
"Only temporarily," Sirius clarified. "We'll empty this place, have her come to Grimmauld Place, and lay low. Could be a year, maybe longer."
"Until the war is over, you mean," said Tonks, looking up at Remus. He clenched his jaw and nodded. "Did she say yes?"
"She did," replied Sirius. "As soon as she's finished with the letters, I'll help her pack this place up."
"My home. . . all the memories. . .Dad."
"It'll be all right," Remus murmured, as Tonks started crying. Across from them, Sirius's face was grim and Andromeda wept at the table. Remus felt as helpless as he had at the Ministry, and wondered if Albus would come through again and save the day.