(This is a long chapter and a lot happens that sets up future chapters)
"Hey sleepyhead, I brought you some tea."
Remus heard someone say, while he was half asleep. Remus turned over to see that the person who spoke to him was Tonks.
Remus hurt horribly and was still in a terrible mood from the New Moon the day before. But despite that, he was glad she was there. The new moon had been the night before, and he still felt like he could have dropped dead on the spot.
"Sirius said you were sick all day." Tonks continued.
Remus reached out for her a little before realizing that he hadn't responded to her.
"Hey" he said, horsely.
"Hey" she said, reaching over to rub his arm soothingly.
Tonks put his tea that she had brought him on his side table.
Tonks slipped under the covers and laid close to Remus. Soon, Remus had drifted off to sleep again, and Tonks busied herself with some leftover paperwork from the office.
Tonks was finishing up an arrest form, when she heard Sirius stomping down the hall towards Remus' room.
Just then the door flung open, revealing a disgruntled looking Sirius bursting in.
Tonks was so startled that she just about drop the arrest report that she was holding.
Remus jumped awake, staring at his friend, frenzied.
"Sirius, what are you doing?!" Remus snapped roughly.
"I need to write a will." Sirius said plainly.
Tonks and Remus just stared at him for a moment, causing Sirius to gesture wildly.
"Sirius, explain to me why this is so time sensitive that you had to burst in here?" Remus groaned.
"Damn it, Remus, you must know why!" Sirius yelled at him.
Remus looked pissed. Tonks remained silent but kept looking back and forth between them.
"May I speak with you in the hall, Sirius." Remus asked coldly.
Sirius followed Remus out into the hallway.
"So, I'm gonna try to move past the fact that you burst into my room with no warning, because it's obvious your having some type of issue." Remus said Cooley.
Sirius looked slightly ashamed.
"Look." Sirius started, "I just need to write a will, okay"
"You had another dream didn't you?"
"That's not the point, why can't you just help?" Snapped Sirius.
Remus sighed heavily. "I don't mind helping, but I do mind how you've been acting."
Sirius hadn't been in the best mood, and had been having a lot of nightmares.
Sirius looked slightly ashamed.
"I just don't want to talk about the dreams, okay." Sirius told him.
"Okay- Remus' response was cut short by tonks opening the bedroom door.
"S-sorry, but this just came for both of you, it says it's urgent."
Tonks handed the roll of parchment to Remus.
Just then, all three of them heard a small jingle from the front hallway.
Peering over the railing, they saw Dumbledore looking up at them jovially.
"Oh good, you've received my letter." Dumbledore said.
The three of them looked confused. Didn't Dumbledore need to be at Hogwarts?
Remus cleared his throat, "you'll have to excuse us, sir we didn't get to read your letter." Explaining that they were out of the loop.
"Well, you see." He started. "I've been asked to leave my post at Hogwarts."
"You mean they sacked you?!?" Sirius yelled, more abrasive than he had intended.
"While I am slightly behind on the times, if that's what you young folk call it these days, then yes Sirius, I was sacked. Quite publicly I may add."
"May we have some tea." Dumbledore added plainly, motioning for them to join him down in the kitchen.
~
Down in the kitchen Remus had busied himself making tea, while Dumbledore told them the whole story.
Umbridge and her cronies, Harry and Dumbledores Army.
"So, I didn't really see any other way to keep them from expelling Harry, but to take credit for the whole thing." Dumbledore explained.
Sirius looked disgruntled over the whole story, Remus knew why too. Sirius was lonely, any company even that if his expelled godson would do.
"Well, what do we do now, what do you do, sir?" Remus asked.
"I'm thinking, for now I lay low, I'm planning on staying in Hogsmeade so I can be close to the school, I also think that the aurors will likely not be looking for me so close to the grounds. Also, Tonks, I'm sorry but you and Kingsley will have to play along at the Ministry. insult me if you have to, we do not want them to think you are on my side, especially now."
Tonks and Remus nodded.
"Whose running the school?" Sirius had asked the million dollar question.
Dumbledore looked at him gravely.
"Unfortunately Sirius, that would be Delores Umbridge."
All three of them looked at him in shock.
"That's not good." Said Sirius.
"It is not. But, if everything goes to plan, that will only be very brief." Dumbledore explained, as he got up to leave.
"But, what's the plan to get you back to the school?" Tonks asked, interested.
"Ahh, you see. My plan is already happening. And, Umbridge herself is doing most of the work for me. Because, she may have the ministry behind her and fancy accommodations. But, she lacks one fundamental thing to be able to do my job well." He explained. "You see, Umbridge hates children, and to do my job well you need to actually enjoy teaching and supporting them."
Dumbledore said the last part with a whimsical smile on his face.
All three of his companions watched as he left the kitchen.
They all looked at each other and laughed at the thought of a cow like Umbridge trying to raise a bunch of hooligans learning magic for the first time.
~
Later on, Sirius and Remus found themselves alone in the kitchen.
"I understand you want to make your will, and I'm telling you We'll do it tomorrow!" Snapped Remus.
"Why can't we do it now?!" Yelled Sirius.
Remus fumed. "Because, it's late, and 12 more hours surly won't effe t the process?!" Remus groaned.
Sirius huffed. " you wouldn't understand" he said plainly.
Remus laughed. "I wouldn't understand? Really? I've had a will since I was 17, because I always figured if one of us would die young, it would be me." He told his friend seriously.
"That's not the point." Sirius yelled.
"Then what is, why wouldn't I understand?!" Remus yelled back
"Because, if you die you leave behind the Order, if I die, I leave Harry. And, I have actually stuff to leave behind, an entire estate a huge amount of Black heirlooms and gold. No offense, but you don't have anything to loose."
Remus didn't say anything, he stared at his friend.
Sirius continued. "And, if I died tonight, everything in my vault would go to the last living black descendants. It would go to the Malfoys."
"What do you mean if you die TONIGHT" Remus flew off the handle. "What do you think your mommy is gonna come alive in the middle of the night, crawl out of her fame, and drag herself to your room to do you in?!?"
Sirius looked shocked. "D-don't ever say that, h-how could you say that." Sirius looked at him hurt. He knew how much Sirius was afraid of his mother and how much he hated living in her house.
"If you're going to throw my demons in my face to make a point, I'm doing the same to you." Remus said coldly.
Sirius at least had the nerve to liked ashamed of himself.
"Look, I'm sorry I said anything about you not leaving anyone - but Sirius was cut oRemus leaving the kitchen.
Sirius sighed, he knew he had fucked up.
~
Remus entered his room to find Tonks sitting on his bed. He felt bad, he had almost forgot she was there.
"Hey" he said.
"Hey, I was going to come back down, but I heard you guys yelling." Tonks blushed a little, she didn't want remus to think she had been eavesdropping on him and Sirius.
Remus sighed, sitting next to her.
"I'm sorry you heard that, Sirius is- he's going through a hard time."
Tonks nodded.
Remus kissed her on the head.
"you know, you can stay with me tonight, if you want to have a little space from Sirius."
Remus paused, "like, sleep over?" He asked.
"Well, yeah." Tonks chuckled.
Remus always said he couldn't leave Sirius alone in the past. But, tonks figured since they were fighting they might need space.
"Oh, I don't know." Remus explained.
"You don't want some space from Sirius?" Tonks asked, while picking up the last of her work things.
The truth was, that he really did want space from Sirius. but, staying over at her house wasn't something he could do.
"It's just that I wouldn't want to put you in that position, werewolves aren't good house guests." Remus said sadly.
"Ha, you act like your not house broken or something." Tonks joked.
But Remus didn't seem to find her funny.
"That's not the problem. I'm sorry, it's just when your here we can make it seem like you're here on order business, but if I were to go to your house and spend the night there and the wrong people found out, I couldn't live with myself watching do you have to face that."
"I mean I don't think anyone would find out, Remus." Tonks said, slightly hurt.
"But, if they did, that could be bad for you, and I don't want to effect your life like that, I'm sorry." He explained.
"Oh, okay." Tonks said, knowing she couldn't argue with him over it.
"Your hurt, I'm sorry."
"N-no, it's okay. I just kinda thought we had moved passed some of this. But, nothing has really changed." Tonks said, looking at Remus.
He sighed, "Dora, I'm still a werewolf, and have to keep you safe, you don't want to see how people would treat you if they knew about us." Remus explained.
Tonks scoffed. "We've talked about that a thousand times, I told you I don't care about that."
"Well, I do care, because I don't want you affected by my condition more than you already are."
Tonks knew it was pointless to argue with him now.
"Okay. Well I have to go get ready for work tomorrow, I'll see you soon." Tonks said as she left.
As she walked away, Remus desperately wanted to go with her, call after her, tell her he had changed his mind. But, Remus was resolute about protecting Tonks. He cared for her too much to not do that right thing by her. No matter how hard it was for him.