Tonks sat, watching Teddy sleep. It was nearly dawn, and he had only just fallen asleep. Her mother had, at some point during the last few months, gone through one of the extra bedrooms to make Teddy a bedroom, but Tonks preferred to have him near her. So his crib stayed next to her bed, as it had been in Paris. She knew, eventually, she'd have to move him into the room across the hall with the powder blue walls but she figured there was no rush.

As annoyed at her Mum as she was, she did appreciate the work she had done to the house. It was a nice house, though slightly neglected by Alastor. She wondered why he had bought a four bedroom house, considering he was always alone. Maybe he had wanted a family when he was younger, before the job took its toll. Three of the bedrooms had been left nearly empty, one made into a makeshift guest room- this she only knew about because he had brought her back here once after a late Order patrol where both of them got roughed up. That room had become Harry's temporary room.

She still wondered why he decided to leave everything to her. He had trained nearly two dozen Aurors in his time. Her only theory was because he knew she would keep his stuff from ending up in the hands of Death Eaters. Unfortunately it meant anything Bill didn't take to study was being stored in Remus' Dad's attic. But, not in the hands of Death Eaters, so she figured he wouldn't care. She just had to figure out what to do with it all.

She kept the clock but had been relieved to find out Bill had managed to break the enchantment that made it go off loudly at five every morning. Now it was just a regular clock and she could live with it.

Yet, here she was, for the second morning in a row with no sleep. She was now simply waiting for Teddy to get a few hours of sleep before she went to St Mungo's. Being awake all night had given her time to think. It hadn't taken long for her to get mad at Petra all over again and decide she didn't care anymore. She was going to bring Remus here, they were going to be a family and Petra needed to leave them alone.

And the Auror in her started to wonder. Could they lure Petra out? Would Dawlish let her do something so stupid? Remus wouldn't.

She could mention it to Dawlish, she had woken up to a letter asking her to meet him and the trainees at the Ministry later. She was pretty sure he'd say no.

Tonks finally got up, showering and eating breakfast before returning to Teddy. He was still asleep, so she laid down, hoping to get even an hour of sleep.

Unfortunately, Teddy was awake less than twenty minutes later.

Tonks was surprised to see Dempster in the room when she entered. "Hi, Dempster." She said. "Is this a bad time, Remus?"

Dempster was already gathering his parchment. "Oh, nonsense, I'll be on my way and back tomorrow, Remus!" Dempster said and then he spotted Teddy. "This must be Teddy, I assume?"

"Yes, he's almost eight months old now." She said, as Dempster tickled Teddy's cheek with the feather end of his quill. Teddy laughed loudly, trying to grab the quill, his hair turning the same golden shade as the feather.

"Wonderful, truly." Dempster said. "Until tomorrow, Remus."

"What's that about?" Tonks asked as the door closed behind Dempster.

"We are writing a piece for the Daily Prophet." Remus said. "They'll be announcing the department changes on Friday, they want to have a piece about Brutum released at the same time."

"You're okay with that?"

"People already know about it. I worry they'll create their own versions of what it was like and Madam Marchbanks think it will help ease the public into the idea of providing support to werewolves instead of controlling them." Remus said. "Even Kingsley agrees, it could help the public understand how the Ministry wants to fix their past."

"And what happens if people still oppose the idea?" She asked.

"I don't know." Remus said. "I suppose we hope that they don't."

"They won't, I think you can convince people. You have a wonderful way with words." Tonks decided and she sat on the end of the bed, facing Remus. "Dawlish called for a meeting with me and the boys so I can't stay long." Tonks said. "Would you like to hold Teddy?"

"You'd be alright with that?" Remus asked.

"You're his father, of course." She said, helping him sit on Remus' lap. Remus seemed unsure about touching him until Tonks guided his hands to support Teddy's back. "You were able to see your memories, right?" She asked.

"Yes, Healer Davis is not sure how, but possibly because they were mine, I didn't actually need my eyesight to see them again. Anything after Petra leading me from the school, I can't see." Remus said.

"So you can only see them if you were able to see at the time?"

"I believe so. I did see Teddy, briefly." Remus said. "It was when I was leaving for the battle, since they wanted to watch memories from that night. Healer Davis hopes to get a pensieve so they can try to pull out the rest."

"Maybe some things are better left forgotten." Tonks said, thinking of her father. She wondered if that was a memory Remus had seen yet. "There are a few things I'd rather forget."

Remus gave her a small nod, and then sighed. "What if Petra finds out you've visited me? Maybe bringing Teddy was a bad idea."

"I can take him back." She said and she noticed his hands tighten their grip slightly. She smiled a bit. "We have a lot to figure out, but we can't do that if we're hiding."

"I don't think it's hiding-"

"Not in the sense we were before." Tonks said. "This is what we fought for, Remus. To be together, to be a family. I don't want to let Petra ruin it. The divorce was Dawlish's idea and I've regretted it ever since."

Remus frowned. "Regretted it ever since...?" He repeated.

"Yes-"

"No, not you." He said, shaking his head slightly. "I said that once, but I can't remember to who- Harry, I said that to Harry once."

"Why? What was the context?"

"I don't know." Remus said. "They didn't pull many memories between Harry and myself. I think the only memory they pulled that I saw was at the battle, but that's not when I said it."

"Okay, what else do you remember? From earlier, I mean." Tonks said.

"Our wedding- or, lack of, I suppose. But then the next thing I remembered on my own is talking to your Dad. I think he was leaving."

"That's at least a two month gap." Tonks said. "Maybe it was somewhere in there."

"If I can't remember when I said it, I know it must have been."

"Okay, well you saw Harry six times between us getting married and the war's end. When we took him from the Dursleys, you didn't say it that night unless it was before I returned to the Burrow. Again on his birthday and Bill's wedding, but we were together both times and you didn't say it then either. You saw him alone in August, when you left me-"

"That was it." Remus said suddenly, closing his eyes for a moment. "I said I regretted marrying you."

"Ouch."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You came back." She said. She pulled her knee up to her chest. "You said you wouldn't go anywhere again."

"I'm sorry." Remus said again. "I am."

"I know." She said, resting her hand on his leg. "I don't want you to be alone when you get to go home. I want you to be with me. It feels unsafe to let you go back to your Dad's, alone. What if something happens? You don't have a wand anymore."

Remus sighed. "I know, Dora-"

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?"

Remus frowned a bit. "When you asked me if ankles turned me on?" Remus asked. "They don't, by the way, I don't believe I ever gave you the answer on that. Why?"

Tonks was sitting on the couch, her knee pulled up to her chest. Her ankle was swelling and she had sliced the leg of her pants so she could roll the leg up to her shin, but was struggling to get her boot off. She heard someone enter and looked up to see Remus standing there.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here." He said, turning away but then turning back to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just took a spell and a tumble." She said. "Work kinda sucked today."

Remus took a step forward. "Do you need help?"

Tonks looked at her boot and then at Remus. "Would you mind? I don't want to cut the laces, but I can't get it off."

Remus nodded, walking over to her, sitting carefully. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but took her leg and began undoing the laces. "Do you use magic to tie them?" He asked, and she nodded. He had loosened the top loops, loosening the tongue and the top of the boot away from her ankle.

"Keeps them from coming untied during a pursuit. I undid the spells, but..." Tonks said as his fingers lingered on her ankle for a moment. "Never seen an ankle before? Women can show them now, old man. Scandalous, isn't it?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "I was checking if it was broken, Nymphadora." He said. "To swell this much, something may be broken. I'm also not quite old enough to have remembered when women couldn't show ankles."

"You act it." She muttered. "Sirius is older than you."

"Not mentally, he's not." He replied and she laughed, as he finally freed the boot from her ankle.

"Oh, thank you, that actually hurts less-"

"It's not broken, just bruised." Remus said. "Do you want help healing it? I'm good at healing spells."

"I'm sorry you have to be."

Remus gave her a small smile. "It's a good skill to have either way." He said. "May I?"

She shrugged. "If it'll make you happy."

Remus pulled out his wand, muttering a spell under his breath, his brow furrowed in concentration. A moment later, she felt the pain dissipate as the swelling began to disappear. "Thanks." She said, dropping her foot to the floor. There was a dull ache that she knew would remain for a day or so. She had leaned forward a bit without really noticing, decreasing the small amount of distance they had had while he helped her. They didn't say anything else when they closed the distance, Remus cupping her face gently when their lips met.

It was only a quick moment later that he pulled away as if he had been shocked. "I'm sorry, Tonks, I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay!" She said quickly. "I- I've wanted to do that for a while."

Remus stared at her, shocked. "Really?" He asked, and she nodded. "I thought I was going mad, the way you looked at me sometimes." He admitted.

"I tried to hide it." Tonks said quietly. "There's just something about you that I really like. You're so smart, you're so handsome, you're nice- wait, what made you kiss me finally? Do you have a foot fetish?"

"What? What kind of question is that?" Remus asked, frowning.

"Well, there has to be something wrong with you for you to have been single this long and that good of a kisser, I just haven't found it yet."

"Well, I'm a werewolf." Remus said pointedly.

"I don't think that's it, but I'll find out."

"You also never told me what made you kiss me that night." Tonks said.

"I... I actually don't know. I suppose, I just wanted to." Remus admitted.

"And look where it's got us." Tonks said, watching Teddy's hair switch from blue to the same sandy and grey as Remus'. Teddy was babbling happily about something, and Tonks suddenly yearned for the day she heard him call Remus 'dada'. She didn't know a lot about babies, but figured his first word had to be coming soon.

"Dora, I'm afraid Petra is going to keep trying to come after you."

"I realised last night, I don't care." Tonks said. "We can take precautions-"

"Dora, you should care."

"Well, I don't." She said firmly. "We fought for this! We fought for a future where we could be together to raise Teddy without having to look over our shoulders for Death Eaters, I don't care about some bitch who has had problems with me since were kids. I want to keep fighting for us. The Ministry is looking for Petra, they will find her."

Remus was quiet, letting Teddy play with his hand. "I wish I could see him. He was so small in that memory." Remus said quietly. "I don't want to miss any more of his life."

"I don't want you to miss it either." Tonks said. "I want you to come and stay with me. I know you don't know the house, but I'll be home for a few more weeks and I can help you-"

"But Petra-"

"I don't care." Tonks said. "I'm tired of people trying to keep us apart. We will handle this, together."

Remus was quiet again. "What about full moons? I can't Apparate myself, I'd need you to take me to my Dad's-"

"I was going to ward the attic, actually." Tonks said. "It's tiny, but I'd feel better having you close. You'll have Wolfsbane, I can brew it. And I can go and stock up on all of the supplies for your recovery. I have some pain potions but nothing else left."

"Are you giving me a choice?"

"No." She said. "But I also need to know that you hiding things from me- that has to stop."

"How did you know Petra, before all of this?" Remus asked. "If you want me to stop hiding things from you, I want you to stop too. You've never told me."

"We went to school together, like Harry said at the trial. That's all." Tonks said. "We just never got along. There were six of us, I think, in my year who applied for the Aurors. Even with all of the studying and extra work, only Roofie and myself got accepted. Petra was rejected. She was so mad, accused me of cheating somehow-"

"But not Roofie?"

"She had a thing for him, so no." Tonks said. "Apparently my abilities were an unfair advantage."

"That wouldn't be your fault if they were." Remus said.

"She didn't believe that." Tonks said. "Truth is, she had issues with some of her grades and they said she could take her NEWTs again later to reapply. She didn't seem to want to accept that."

"And do you think that's why she's doing all of this, because you two never got along?" Remus asked.

"I have no idea." Tonks admitted. "There has to be more to it. Going after us just because we didn't along in school? There has to be more."

"Ultimately, she's a victim of Greyback and has been since she was young." Remus said. "I knew Greyback had a mate, like I said, but-"

"Maybe that's it." Tonks said. "Greyback was a cruel monster. She would have never had a choice with him. So, she's become bitter. Maybe she's letting the lycanthropy control her."

"She didn't have to continue Greyback's work." Remus said. "There's always a choice."

"People don't always make the right choices, though." Tonks said and then she paused. "What if I lure her out?"

"No."

"Remus, you have to accept I have a dangerous job-"

"This isn't an Auror mission, though." Remus said. "This is different-"

"How?" Tonks asked. "Just because she's threatening me personally? Wouldn't be the first time I've worked a case where someone hated me, specifically-"

"It's not an Auror case, though, is it?" Remus asked and then he narrowed his eyes. "You're not on the taskforce, are you?"

"No, they didn't ask me. Not yet, anyway. Maybe they still will. Maybe that's why Dawlish wants to meet with me today."

"I hope not, you said Neville and Harry were going with you and I doubt they'd ask trainees to get involved." Remus said. "Dora, if we're going to try to figure this out and be together, I'd feel a lot better if you don't put yourself in the paths of werewolves. Even if you lure Petra out and she's arrested, you could make yourself the target to the next werewolf that takes over the pack."

"That could happen anyway."

"That worries me." Remus said. "However, I'd feel better if you were among the Aurors and not the taskforce in the Support Services Office."

"So... you said 'be together'..." She said slowly. "Does that mean you'll come home with me?"

Remus smiled slightly. "You already said you weren't giving me a choice."

"And if I did give you a choice?"

Remus was quiet for a moment, exhaling slowly. "I would still agree."

"Good." She said, checking her watch. "Would you be alright if I left Teddy here while I went to the Ministry? Dawlish said it wouldn't take long, I can come back to get him after."

Remus looked unsure. "Dora, I- I can't really take care of him by myself right now. If he needs something-"

There was a knock on the door. "I took care of that, I know someone else wants to visit with you." She said as it opened and Molly entered with Harry. Tonks also knew Molly was dying to talk to both of them about their relationship, but Tonks wouldn't admit that to Remus. "Molly will stay with you two while I go with Harry to the Ministry."

"I haven't seen Teddy in months and I would love to have a visit with you, Remus." Molly said.

"Molly, I don't want you to take time out of your day-"

"Oh, nonsense. Arthur's at work, everyone else is at work or out for the day and Hermione and Ginny won't be home until tonight."

"Tonight? That's a little earlier than Christmas break usually starts, isn't it?" Remus asked.

"They extended it a week, so the Ministry can continue repairs." Harry said. "The big repairs are done but I've heard they want everything completed before classes resume. Hermione's last letter was pretty upset about how disruptive the work has been."

"Right, well that settles it. Molly gets to babysit you both." Tonks said.

"Dora, it's not babysitting." Remus said and she stood, patting his leg.

"We'll see you in a bit, you and Harry can visit then. Oh, Molly, Teddy woke up from a nap shortly before we got here, so he probably won't need one for a while. I should be back by then." Tonks said, accepting a quick hug from Molly and leaving with Harry.

"Do you know what today is about?" Harry asked as they made their way through the hospital.

"No, but if Dawlish thinks it's going to a quick meeting, I honestly think it might be so we can start the process to get you and Neville your Muggle ID." She said. "I don't suppose you know if the Dursleys have any of your documents still? You must have had Muggle documents, living with them."

"I would imagine they burned them, actually."

"I could see it." Tonks said with a shrug. "You'll have records somewhere anyway, even if it's not the original copies. Most kids with a Muggle or Muggleborn parent would, I'm not sure if Neville would, though. St Mungo's does sometimes do it if the parents ask at birth, but a lot of purebloods have to apply through the Ministry as adults. Otherwise, you can't get your license or do anything in the Muggle world. Aurors have to make sure they have it all anyway. You and Neville are lucky, though."

"How?"

"Your names sound normal, so you can use your birth names."

"Do some people not use their birth names?" Harry asked as they stepped out onto the street outside of the Visitors' Entrance.

"Depends on whose name it is. On all of my Muggle paperwork, my name is Isadora Anne, instead of Nymphadora Andromeda. It raises less questions than my real name would, because it turns out some Muggles don't like 'weird' names, but it does raise the question of why my parents didn't just choose that name in the first place." She said. "I was a few years old when they did the paperwork for me so they definitely could have."

"Either way, you could still go by Dora or Tonks."

"That's what my Dad said when I asked him and then he followed up with, 'so why does it matter?'." Tonks said. "You'll still have to go through the entire process of learning to drive, if you want to, but it is a helpful skill to have as an Auror."

"Driving is?" Harry asked. "Really?"

"Sometimes we'll end up in the Muggle world, like I told you. And if it's a multi day mission, where we're in contact with Muggles a lot, walking everywhere kind of sucks if you can't get away to Apparate. There aren't many Aurors who split their lives between the two societies, so having more that do, eases the caseload on those of us already doing it. As your mentor, I am going to heavily suggest you and Neville both consider it. Plus, you get the bonus privilege of having the better cases. The more skills an Auror has, the more likely they get assigned to cases. A wide variety of skills will open you up to a wide variety of cases that other Aurors may not get to see." They stopped in an alley between the abandoned department store masking St Mungo's and another abandoned business. "Do you want to Apparate, take me with you?" She asked.

"That still makes me nervous."

"And you'll get less nervous the more you do it."