Hands wandered over her body and she let her eyes close, trying to savior the moment between them before they had to get up and face the day.

The sensation suddenly changed, the hands digging into her painfully. Her eyes opened and Remus was gone, replaced by a large werewolf looming over her. It growled and bared its teeth, the sound low and menacing, and she could feel warm blood spilling from where its claws dug into her flesh.

Tonks woke with a start, her heart pounding, just as the beast had latched its teeth around her throat. She sat upright, trying to force herself to take slow and even breaths.

She stood slowly and walked to the window. She looked outside, where the sky was still dark, but in winter, that didn't mean much. A car pulled out of the driveway of a quaint green house across the street and a few doors down, but the street was silent otherwise. The car left the first tracks in a blanket of fresh snow. She hoped the attic wouldn't be cold tonight, but she could use warming charms. She had been up there once since Bill emptied it, and it was a nice enough space. Small, with a little skylight, and she couldn't imagine having any use for the room otherwise. It would make a nice space for Remus once they did some work on it. The door that lead to the steep stairs was nestled between two of the bedrooms. Another door at the top of the stairs provided extra protection, this would likely be the door they warded so he could not leave the room. She would have to make sure they replaced the railing at some point. It would not be good if Remus fell trying to descend after a transformation.

Tonks wondered if Petra would actually try to make a move on either house tonight. She had to know they were waiting for her. Dawlish had also promised to try to spare Aurors for the area, but she wasn't too confident. They'd have to find somewhere safe to station themselves but she knew they'd still have a disadvantage against any werewolves.

Tonks closed the curtains again, heading out of the room and to Teddy's. He was still asleep, and Harry's door was closed so she assumed she was the only one awake.

She went downstairs, writing to her mother again. This time, she included that she would be showing up the next day if she didn't hear back. She figured she would shower before Teddy woke up, which would be in the next hour or so if he didn't get fussy and wake himself up early. He was getting so active all of a sudden, she was certain he'd be crawling soon enough. And it was about time for it too, she knew. He was starting to teeth, he was more willing to try actual(mushy) food, and she kept getting struck with the realisation that soon she'd have to chase around an actual toddler.

The idea terrified her.

Tonks went back upstairs, checking that both Teddy and Remus were still asleep, before slipping into the shower. Some days, she just stood under the hot spray with her eyes shut, enjoying the heat of the water and the feeling of it drumming against her skin. She loved the rain too, even if it was cold. During Auror training, when she was forced to try to identify different potions, she noted Amortentia had smelled like a forest after a rain storm to her.

And so did Remus once, when he returned to Grimmauld from a full moon, soaking wet from a sudden downpour of rain shortly before dawn. He usually transformed in the cellar, but Dumbledore had sent him somewhere on a stakeout that month instead. Tonks often wondered why Dumbledore did half of what he did, but none of them had ever really questioned his requests. She remembered helping Remus out of his soaked jacket, Sirius still passed out upstairs, and then she had helped him to bed and helped him clean the few injuries he had sustained. His jacket had reminded her of the smell, the crispness of the rain and leaves. He did not enjoy the rain, he had said, especially when he had to be outside. She had remarked that he just needed to have a good reason to be outside, instead of being forced.

"Dora?"

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she knocked the shampoo down in her haste to turn off the water. She grabbed a towel, nearly slipping on the tile as she wrapped it around herself and hurried into the bedroom.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked, but to her surprise, Remus grinned.

"Nothing, I'm sorry, I just wanted to see you."

It took her a long moment to realise what he had said.

The woman raised her wand, a loud bang followed a bright orange flash. The forest around Remus faded rapidly, his eyes burning. When he opened his eyes, he was still in bed, and he was surprised that he didn't see nothing and that he remembered everything.

The room was dark, but he could see the dark curtains were pulled shut. The room seemed familiar somehow to him, but perhaps it was just because the furniture surrounding him was the same furniture she had in her flat, but he noticed some of his own things were around the room too- he felt gratitude when he spotted the old, threadbare quilt his mother had made him was folded at the end of the bed. There was a door on his side of the bed, beside where the windows were, and he was pretty sure that must be the closet. Dora always slept closest to the door, which meant the door at the foot of the bed led to the hallway. The other door, on the other side of a nightstand on her side, was partially open and he could hear a shower running.

His eyes were still burning, but he stood, walking around the bed. He still felt like he had seen this room somehow before, but it just wasn't possible.

"Dora?" He called.

He heard something fall in the shower and the water shut off, immediately feeling bad to interrupt her. She came out of the bathroom, wrapped haphazardly in a towel, her dark hair dripping onto the carpet. She hard dark circles under her eyes, the same silver eyes he remembered as Sirius' and Andromeda's. She was also a few inches shorter than he recalled. "What? What's wrong?"

He broke into a grin. "Nothing, I'm sorry, I just wanted to see you."

Confusion crossed her features. "See me?" She asked quietly.

"You were always the first thing I wanted to see when I could, so I'd like to pretend I didn't see the drapes."

"You can see?" She asked, rushing to him, throwing her arms around him. "It just happened?"

"I was having a dream I was in a forest and then- I remembered something orange." He said. "And then I woke up, and-"

"Orange?" Dora asked, leaning back. "Are you sure?"

He stared down at her and nodded. He was disappointed in himself that it felt like her current- and true- appearance was going to take some getting used to. She was now shoulder height compared him, which was definitely a couple inches below where he remembered. She must have morphed her height often, he figured, along with her nose, eyes and hair.

"Shit, that's why the Healers couldn't figure it out." She said. "She used a cloaking jinx! The Healers couldn't figure it out because cloaking jinxes are not meant to be used on people! It just had to wear off! You need to see Teddy! Oh- but he's still sleeping, I hate to interrupt his sleep cycles-"

Remus pulled her into a kiss, mostly just to stop her before she truly began to ramble. "It's okay, there's no rush. Let him sleep." He said. "Is this you? This is still you, completely unmorphed?"

She nodded, and seemed a bit insecure suddenly. "I keep hoping my abilities will return, I used to make myself look more like Dad." She said quietly.

"I still stand by what I said, you are the most beautiful witch I've ever seen." Remus said.

"That's because you haven't seen me naked and unmorphed." She said. "I don't know if it was just because of how I carried the pregnancy or just bad luck but I have so many stretchmarks and my stomach is still so much more squishy than it was before and-"

"Dora, you're too hard on yourself."

"Maybe, but so are you." She said. She took both of his hands. "I would like to go and finish my shower, but I'd also like you to join me. We should have about an hour, if Teddy doesn't wake up early. If you want to see all of the real me, anyway."

After their less-than-productive shower, she started to get dressed while he shaved, borrowing her wand. It wasn't unresponsive to him, but certainly wasn't as good as his own had been. He had wondered where it was and asked, and Dora had explained the Ministry still had it. She would write to Dawlish later to ask if it was going to get released back to Remus' possession since the investigation was technically over. Remus hoped it would. His wand was one of two items he managed to keep during the years he was on his own. The other was a pale green sweater his mother had made him when he was thirteen but she had miscalculated and it ended up being far too big for him. Now it fit, but it had been mended many times since. Anything else of his mother's, or his, had been left at his Dad's when he left home. He had been relieved to see his father hadn't gotten rid of anything during their estrangement after his mother's death.

"I kinda like the overgrown, rugged look." She commented, hugging him from behind. She was wearing a mustard yellow sweater and dark jeans, and he remembered she had worn that sweater to a meeting once, only for Sirius to insult the 'awful' colour. Remus thought any shade of yellow looked brilliant on Dora, personally. Her hands were uncomfortably cold against his feverish chest now, something the hot spray of the shower had concealed.

"I don't."

She rested her forehead against his back. "I'm going to go get your potion, and then Teddy should be waking up any time."

He nodded, and she left. He finished shaving, walking back into the bedroom, leaving her wand on the bed. When he opened the drawers, Remus noticed the dresser was mostly empty except for his clothes. There were very few things that seemed to be hers.

"What happened to that Weird Sisters shirt you used to always wear?" Remus asked when she walked back in a few moments later. "And the rest of your clothes, actually..."

"I didn't always wear it. You just happened to see me when I did." She said. "It's at your Dad's. A lot of my clothes still don't fit the same, so I haven't brought them over yet. I don't want to look at them... it just reminds me how different my body feels now."

He took the glass from her. He wanted to say more, but he didn't know what to say. He was no stranger to low self esteem- he couldn't stand his own reflection most days. Remarks from people who meant well- mostly Molly- about how thin he appeared always exhausted him. The angry red scars covering his body that seemed to be more prominent closer to the full moon, the bite itself... to him, Dora looked perfect. He had hardly noticed the stretchmarks she complained about- though his mind was elsewhere once they were under the water- and she still appeared to have the Auror's physique he remembered. He also knew, however, that he could say all of this to her and it wouldn't make a difference or erase the version of herself she saw.

He drained the potion, grimacing at the awful taste and earning a sympathetic look from Dora. "Ready to see Teddy?" She asked. The idea made him forget the awful after taste of the potion.

In fact, the relief of his vision returning and being able to spend the day properly taking care of Teddy- giving Dora a much deserved break, he figured- distracted him from most of his symptoms. Ginny and Harry left early in the evening to have dinner at the Burrow before Ginny would return to Hogwarts the next day. Ginny spent most of the afternoon complaining how lazy their current Defense Professor was and how she really hated the lessons.

Eventually, in the quiet of the early evening, he was laying on the couch with Teddy asleep on his chest when Dora said what he had been dreading.

"You have to go upstairs."

He knew. He always knew. There was an internal clock ticking down as the moon neared and he always knew. She pressed a kiss to his feverish forehead and he slowly opened his eyes. Dora looked apologetic to bother him.

"I didn't want today to be over so fast." Remus admitted. "I've missed months with Teddy."

Dora gave him a smile. "It's alright, there's years of childcare ahead of you."

Tonks didn't sleep. She waited all night, awake, for any sign Remus hurt himself or for Petra to show up at this house. Once the moon rose, however, she knew Petra wouldn't be able to, but she didn't relax much. Every full moon since Remus had scratched her, she simply couldn't sleep. She knew it was due to the partial infection. Luckily, tonight, Teddy did not seem as affected and had gone to sleep already.

Another owl had arrived, finally bringing a response from Andromeda.

Dora,

I was disappointed not to hear from you earlier, we decided to spend Christmas at the cabin instead of my home and everyone would have loved to see you. Too many memories for Mum and Dad, I think. They send their love and will come for a visit in the spring. I am home now, and would like to come over tomorrow for tea with you and Remus. We have a lot to discuss.

Love,

Mum

Tonks had written back a quick response, agreeing to tea. At some point, Teddy got fussy so she brought him downstairs. Harry got back late, only sleeping a few hours before joining her, going through a book about potions and poisons the Ministry usually created for Aurors' knowledges. He seemed to use a lot of his downtime studying anything that would help him pass his exams eventually, and so she had kept a lot of Alastor's books on Dark magic for Harry to use.

"Why are there so many circled?" Harry asked.

"Oh, that was Alastor." She said. "He said those are the ones people would probably use most."

"Amortentia?" Harry asked. "Really?"

"People are weird." She said with a shrug. "You smelled it in your sixth year, didn't you? Usually it gets covered." Harry nodded, and she noticed a slight blush creep along his cheeks. "Okay, what did it smell like?"

Harry blushed further. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"It always is." She said. "Luckily, it makes it easy to detect because of how unique the smells can be."

"Well then, what did it smell like to you?" Harry challenged.

"In sixth year, it smelled like a forest after a rainstorm, but also Charlie's cologne. During training, it was still a forest after a rainstorm, but also... something sweet. I couldn't identify it. Still don't know what it was, and it could be a bit different again. As you get older, the things that attract you will also change. So, what was it?"

"Uh, it reminded me of treacle tart, broomsticks and... Ginny's perfume."

"Maybe it won't change for you, then. You're still with Ginny, so..."

Harry shrugged, ducking behind the book again.

"You can ignore the entry on the Cessabit potion, not relevant to you."

"What does it do?"

"It's a really old one, no proof it even works, but it's said to drain a Metamorphmagus of any control they have. It would give the other person full control over whatever a Metamorphmagus did." Tonks said. "There's been no reports of it ever actually existing, though. The Ministry just adds any possibly existing potion to those books so Aurors know. If it did exist, I'm sure the Death Eaters would have tried to use it after I refused them. Alastor just wanted me to know, in case."

"Do Aurors get poisoned a lot?" Harry asked, putting the book down. "This is a lot to remember."

"Sometimes, not often. That's why Alastor didn't trust other peoples' cooking." Tonks said.

"Oh, I thought that was just a him thing, really."

Tonks shook her head. "No, I guess that's how his father died." She said. "I think most of his family were killed on the job. It's why he ended up so paranoid, he knew how many enemies Aurors can have. He liked to remind me of that. For a while, I thought he was trying to scare me off. Turns out, most mentors do that kind of stuff, they want us to know the worst parts of the job."

"You never try to scare us off with awful stories."

"I don't have anything as bad as his cases yet. Besides, you've faced the same Death Eaters I have. Nothing I can tell you would surprise you. It's all been very boring compared to older Aurors. My very first official task after completing training was responding to the World Cup incident, so I doubt I've seen anything you haven't." Tonks said.

"I don't remember seeing Aurors there,-"

"You wouldn't have, at first. Charlie was telling me about it, you lot were far away from where any Auror was. And, embarrassingly, it took us longer to respond than it should have. We were trying to deal with the Death Eaters and help the Muggles, the people who fled weren't our priority. It wasn't until the Dark Mark was cast that anyone went that way. I just wasn't in that group, so I don't know who actually responded to the Dark Mark." Tonks said. "Older Aurors get the have all the fun on big cases."

"Very few joined the Order, though-"

"Even that was boring compared to most of the other members! Do you know what I did most of last year? Nothing useful!" Tonks said. "Even the whole time, actually. I could have infiltrated the Death Eaters without being caught, I could have gathered a lot of information for us, but Dumbledore didn't want to use my abilities very often. And never for anything that cool. I'd volunteer a lot, but it was almost like he didn't trust me to do more than gather information at the Ministry. I never understood."

"There's a lot of things he did that don't make sense to me." Harry said, with a shrug. "I wouldn't say you did nothing useful, though." He gestured to Teddy, who was finally starting to doze on the couch next to her. She had her hand on his chest to make sure he didn't roll. "He seems to be pretty popular."

"He was a good distraction, that's all. In all the death and fighting, and how we never had anything to talk about at meetings- when we could still have them, anyway- he was Molly's favourite topic. She'll be bugging Bill and Fleur for her own grandchild any day now."

"She mentioned it a few times at dinner. I think they were regretting their visit." Harry said. "Bill said he was going to write you a strongly worded letter about showing Mrs Weasley that you lot are old enough to have kids now."

The next day, after fussing over Teddy for nearly half an hour, Andromeda unceremoniously told Harry and Tonks to leave so she could talk to Remus alone. Tonks argued at first, but it was Remus who insisted it would be alright. At the same time, an owl arrived with a letter from Dawlish asking Tonks to come to the Ministry, so she respected her mother's request and Harry tagged along with her.

The department was a mess when they walked in, but Dawlish didn't give them a chance to pause and ask any questions. She would have gone straight to Roofie otherwise, who was bent over Proudfoot's desk with a thick stack of parchment. The two of them seemed to be having some kind of passionate discussion.

In his office, the first thing Dawlish did was hand her Remus' wand. "As I said, sorry about that. Luckily, they were just waiting for me to sign the form." He said. "Someone torched Remus' place last night. We believe it was Death Eaters. They also torched Harry's."

"They burned down Sirius' house?" Harry asked. "I thought, the remaining enchantments were holding-"

"Something broke them. I'm sorry, Harry."

"So, the Death Eaters are still coming after Order members." Tonks said. "We knew that."

"They are trying to eliminate a search radius, we believe." Dawlish said. "As of now, there is no record of where you're living. It's likely that they haven't bothered to watch Alastor's house."

"What about the werewolves? Bill wasn't home, but did the pack try anything?"

"Yes, but only at Bill's. If you hadn't gotten that information, they could have gotten to him." Dawlish said. "And we wouldn't have been able to arrest Petra."