(AN: this chapter contains content from HBP and any direct quotes or references belong to JK Rowling. Most dialogue isn't verbatim)
Tonks, Remus, Ron, Hermione, and the twins all sat huddled around Bills hospital bed.
The hospital wing was eerily quiet, and around them, Madame Pumphrey buzzed around them like a bee.
running from patient to patient. Neville had sustained a fairly severe injury to his leg, and Flitwick was being given a potion to revive him from his magic stupor.
And, Ron kept trying to ask Madame Pomfrey questions about Bills condition.
to all she just answered "I don't know yet. I'm trying to save his life" she barked.
Ginny had gone to try to find Harry, and silence overwhelmed them as they waited for news of the others with baited breath.
Remus looked around the hospital wing, if these were the only injuries their side had sustained then they had gotten off pretty lucky, all things considered.
Remus felt like he was on the edge of his seat. Literally and figuratively. he could barely sit still while the others talked amongst themselves. He quickly realized that he wasn't the only one. Tonks too, looked lost in thought and on edge.
Remus' worries were amplified when Tonks stood up, after Madame Pomfrey asked if anyone else needed medical attention.
He watched as Tonks disappeared behind one of the privacy curtains.
He couldn't help but listen to the two of them speaking behind the curtain.
He could hear them fairly well, but couldn't make out everything they said. He just got bits as pieces of the conversation
"Well, you shouldn't have to worry about contamination of any kind." Madame Pomfrey. Was saying.
"Contamination?" Remus thought. 'From what?' His mind wandered, as the moonlight eerily drifted in through the windows of the sanatorium.
"Infection is still a huge risk though. You'll need help taking care of this over the next few days." She continued.
"I'm sure I can manage" tonks was saying.
Remus couldn't help but sigh, she was always brave.
"There will probably be a mild scar after it heals. Here, take this. It'll hurt, but it'll cut down the likelihood of infection. I'll be back in a bit."
Tonks however didn't reemerge after another minute or two. Remus decided to check on her and make sure she was okay.
"Tonks?" he called quietly through the curtain.
"Yeah?" She answered, gasping.
"Are you okay?" Remus asked, walking around the curtain.
He stopped when he saw her arm. There were angry red scratches from her elbow all the way down her forearm.
She was grimacing, and dabbing a green looking ointment on her arm, wincing as she did. And, she was crying silently.
He immediately was hit with a wave of panic and concern.
"Hey, let me help you." Remus offered. "Who did this to you?" He asked as he sat down next to her. Already knowing the answer.
Tonks just shook her head, as she willingly let Remus take the cloth and potion from her hands.
"I was trying to help Bill, I just ran over to him. Didn't look around to make sure it was safe. And, then Grayback was behind both of us. We both got lucky." Tonks said.
Remus didn't respond right away, but patted her on the back. The truth was, he was too angry to say anything. Grayback was a vile disease of a person.
"It's not on you, you did nothing wrong." He told her once he gained his composure.
She gasped when he dabbed at her arm.
"Here." He put a pillow on her lap, so she could rest her arm. "That should feel a little better."
For the next few minutes Remus cleaned out the lacerations on Tonks arm and she leaned her head against his shoulder and cried silently as he did it.
It hurt terribly, and she couldn't stop thinking about Bill. And, how nothing and no one ever felt safe anymore.
She didn't even care that she cried in front of Remus. And after he had finished cleaning her arm. she wrapped herself around his chest. Holding on to him.
He held her back and she silently cried into the crook of his neck. "How, are we ever supposed to feel safe? None of us can be alone anymore, none of us are safe." She whispered.
"I don't know. I don't know. I wish this wasn't happening too." Remus lamented. rubbing circles into her back as he whispered to her.
In that moment he wanted to protect her, to tell her she didn't have to be alone, and that he loved her.
But he didn't. He reframed from this. Knowing it would be wrong. He didn't want to let her go so he held until she had calmed down more. Touching her after so long felt so right.
They broke apart and Remus started to wrap up her arm. "Here, this should keep it protected." He said, pinning the gauze in place.
"I hope I didn't hurt you too much." Remus told her.
"It's alright, I'll be okay." Tonks assured him.
"C'mon, we should go sit with Bill." Remus suggested. And Tonks nodded in agreement.
And, when they stood up to walk over, Remus offered her his hand to help her get up, and for just a few seconds they held hands as they walked, before realizing it, and they both let go.
Slightly red faced, they both went back to sit next to the unconscious Bill. Ron and Hermione were talking quickly and quietly and abruptly stopped when the two of them came back over.
The five of them, stayed mostly silent, waiting in anticipation to find out what it happened, until the hospital wing doors opened and Harry and Ginny emerged into the hospital wing.
Remus stood the second he saw Harry. He looked harrowed. As if he was in limbo.
"Harry! Are you alright?" Remus asked him. Clearly desperate for news.
It's question was briefly interrupted by Hermione launching herself at Harry. She had been terrified too. Remus thought.
Herry tried to say that he was fine, but Remus could tell he was not. He look like he was 1000 miles away.
Where is Bill? How is he? Harry asked.
He walked over and stared at Bill, laying on his back, covered in his own blood.
"What will happen to him?" Harry Asked madame Pomfrey.
"Well, there's no cure for werewolf bites.." she explained, " and these bites are severe an unlikely to heal fully. You see, I can only do so much."
"But he wasn't a bit of the full moon what does that mean? What will happen?" Ron asked panicked. Ron looked up at Remus. Clearly hoping he would have some insight.
Remus sighed , he wished he could give Ron and the rest of the group looking at him but the truth was he didn't know it would happen to bill.
"I can't-well-you see." Remus stuttered slightly over his words. He wasn't sure exactly what to say. This was a unique case. He truly didn't know what would happen to bill.
"I-it is my hope that bill will not become a werewolf. And I think that he probably will not be at least not true werewolf, but I really can't say for sure, his bites are very severe. Those are cursed wounds. At the very least bill will probably have some wolfish characteristics from now on." He explained. Hoping it was a good enough explanation. he felt at this point words were hollow nothing he said can make the situation better.
Everyone sighed, perhaps that was the best they could hope for now.
Ron quickly interjected.
"Well, Dumbledore must be able to do something?! Bill was fighting those maniacs on his orders." Ron demanded.
"Dumbledore is Dead, Ron." Ginny Said, numbly
Shock and terror swept through Remus.
"No" he yelled out, instinctively. He couldn't help it. He just collapsed in his chair, putting his face in his hands, barely able to breathe. He felt like Harry looked. in limbo.
He was instantly dazed by the news, but managed to put himself together to hear the details from Harry.
"How did it happen?" Asked tonks.
"It was Snape." Harry Replied.
Remus' blood ran cold.
He listened to every detail, hating himself and Snape the more he heard.,
He had completely blown Harry's concerns about Snape off.
Now, that was haunting him., in that moment he couldn't help it feel like a failure, and that he had to let Harry down and now here he was again facing another horrific trauma, and this time perhaps it would've been avoidable if people had taken Harry's concerns about Malfoy and Snape seriously.
Remus shook in rage as he listened to the betrayal of the century. Snape, after all had been one of Dumbledore's, most trusted advisers, not only at Hogwarts, but also in the Order.
For awhile they stayed quiet after Harry spoke, which was then broken by McGonagall entering the hospital wing.
Upon hearing the news, McGonagall collapsed.
"Snape?" She shuddered.
But he always trusted- but she couldn't go on. She was speechless.
"I can't believe it." She gasped.
Remus was so angry, his blood boiled.
"Snape was a highly accomplished occlumens." Remus said coldly, hating himself for trusting Snape.
For the next 10 minutes, all of them ruminated on the details of the battle. And all of Snape's duplicitousness. Remus soon realized he was not the only one who blamed themself, for the nights events. We often found him consoling or even comforting those around him, insisting that none of this was their fault. And, indeed, it was not.
This was all on Snape.
In the minds of them all, Severus Snape was nothing more than a traitor.
On the other side of him, Tonks couldn't help but feel numb. She truthfully was terrified.
Both of them jumped up when Arthur and Molly and Fleur barged into the hospital wing. Remus and Tonks moved out of the way, so that the three of them could stand closest to Bill.
They ended up asking more of the same questions and Remus felt awful, but he wasn't able to tell them anymore. Good news.
Tonks couldn't help but feel awful for Remus. Everyone was looking to him for advice and information during this time and it was very obvious that Remus had no idea what to say or what would even happened to Bill..
"There will probably be some contamination Arthur." he said, gravely to the man across from him.
"For now that's all we know. we have no idea what bills behavior will be like when he wakes up." Remus said truthfully.
They watched as Molly cried over her son, kissing his bloodied and scarred face.
Fleur watched Bill with an almost empty look on her face.
And Molly started sobbing over his son.
A wave of pain and sadness cut through Tonks at this scene. She wondered if those around her felt as bad as she did for Molly.
And poor Fleur, she was only 20 after all. She look terrified.
And she felt even worse for Bill. Scarred for life, and so young.
"Oh, my poor sweet boy." Molly Cried over her eldest son.
"It-it really doesn't matter what he looks like." Molly continued sobbing. "He was always such a handsome little boy."
Remus and Tonks watched along with everyone else, feeling helpless.
"And, he was supposed to get married this summer." Molly weeped.
Fleur reacted violently to the last statement.
"WHAT DO OU MEAN, E WAS TO GET MARRIED?" Fleur raged.
Molly was clearly startled by this out burst from Fleur.
"Well, it's just-." Molly stumbled over her words not sure exactly what she wanted to say. Before flare cut her off.
" What do you think, because of these bites, that Bill would not wish to marry me anymore?" Fleur questioned her.
"Because he will!" Fleur shouted at her.
Suddenly. Tonks started to feel pride well up inside her for Fleur. 'She still loved him.' Tonks thought.
Because they were truly in love. The other stuff didn't matter to her. She just wanted Bill. Scarred or unscarred, bitten or not.
She understood how she felt. She felt how she felt.
"WHAT, YOU THINK HE WOULDN'T?
It would take more than these bites to stop Bill from loving me." Fleur exclaimed, in anger.
Those words seeped into Tonks soul. She hopped Remus could feel the waves of anger running off her.
"Well of course, it's just that given-" Molly tried to explain.
"OR, erhaps you'd hoped!" Fleur yelled.
And the more angry she got, the more angry Tonks became at the man standing next to her. she gripped the end of Bills hospital bed in anger, trying not to explode.
After Fleur stopped yelling, everyone held their breath for a few seconds. Unsure of what would happen. Unsure if l be N to Molly would yell.
Next to her, Remus didn't dare look over at Tonks. He knew she was glaring at him. He made a point to look anywhere but at Tonks.
Suddenly, Molly spoke.
"Bills aunty Muriel has a lovely goblin made Taira that would look just beautiful with your hair. You could wear it for the wedding." Molly said, kindly.
The group of people around bills bed stood stared in shock at the two women closest to Bill.
Then, they were embracing each other. Crying into each others arms.
Remus was particularly shocked, deep down he had been concerned that Fleur would no longer want to marry Bill either. To see her so aggressively come to his defense was extremely surprising.
for a few seconds everyone just stared at Molly and Fleur.
Then Tonks snapped. She couldn't take it antmore.
Here was someone saying the exact things she'd been saying to Remus for the better part of a year and a half.
"You see." She pleaded with him, desperately.
"She doesn't care that he's been bitten"
Remus closed his eyes briefly.
Barely looking at Tonks, he spoke almost inaudibly. "It's not the same. Bill will likely not be a full Werewolf. The cases are very different." Remus said, trying his hardest not to look at her.
"But, I don't care either, I don't care." She reiterated forcefully. Grabbing his shirt. pleading with him.
She knew if he said no now, after everything that had happened, he'd likely never change his mind. She was giving it one last shot, regardless if she looked desperate and crazy or not.
"I've said all along, you're being ridiculous about this Remus." Molly, said in a kind but admonishing voice.
Tonks felt hopeful, perhaps if others felt the same way, she had a shot.
"Besides, Tonks deserves someone young and whole." Remus said, as if he'd already made up his mind.
"But, she wants you." Arther mused. "Besides, young and whole men don't necessarily remain that way." He explained, looking sadly at his son.
Remus didn't say anything at first he just sighed.
"Now, isn't the time to discuss it. Dumbledore is dead." Remus said, sadly.
"Well, Professor Dumbledore would be very pleased to think that there was more love in the world." McGonagall said.
Remus was speechless and didn't know what to say. He felt the group before simply could t be expected to understand his motives for not being with Tonks.
Remus wondered gravely, as the next hour progressed.
If a man as great, and as righteous as Albus, Dumbledore could be so fatally wrong. What could, he, Remus be wrong about, himself.
~
A while later, Remus found himself, outside the main entrance to the castle. Sitting on the stone steps. He couldn't stomach being in the infirmary a second longer. He wanted to escape and seek some solitude with all that had happened that day, or just in the last few hours alone. He promised to come back the following day to check in on Bill, and to show support to Molly and Arthur.
Now all he really wanted was quiet.
When he heard small footsteps behind him it caused him to turn to see who had emerged.
It was Tonks.
"Wotcher." She said, calmly. Coming to sit, next to him.
"Hey." He said softly.
"Sorry about before. I didn't mean to get upset." Tonks explained, slightly abashed at her behavior.
"No. It's okay. You feel how you feel." Remus said.
Tonks nodded.
"Well, it's a moot point now, but for what it's worth. I really do love you. and I wish you'd change your mind about us being together. But, I understand you probably won't. So, I'll try to let it go. Don't know if I can, but I'll try. " she explained to him. Before giving him a quick hug.
Before he could think of a response, she had gotten up to leave.
Tonks sighed, knowing she was about to sound desperate. "If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me." she told him before walking off into the dark night.
Remus watched her go. Desperately wanting to run after her.