It had been a week since the attack and Tonks had only just gotten released earlier the day before, but Harry had only seen her for a brief few minutes. Remus had gone to get her after he finished his lessons and Harry had just been leaving for the Ministry by the time they got home. The next morning, after he got home, he had overheard an hour long argument between the two about whether or not Remus should stay home. Considering Remus went to work that day, Harry was sure Tonks had won the argument.

It was dark in the living room when he got home that night. He had slept most of the day after training and only got up in the late afternoon. No one else was home, but Remus had left a note and some dinner, saying they had gone to visit Tonks' Mum and didn't want to wake him.

Now, it was late again and Harry had believed no one was awake. Seeing Tonks sitting in the dark startled him. He had drawn his wand but fumbled it, earning a small chuckle from Tonks.

"Nice reflexes." Tonks remarked when he scooped it back up. She straightened up with a bit of a wince. "How was training?"

Harry didn't love training with Dawlish because Dawlish was so busy that Harry would get very little warning for when he had to be at the Ministry- and usually, it was still at night. Dawlish said it was helping him learn how to respond quickly to summons. Personally, Harry couldn't wait until Tonks and Neville were allowed back.

"He spent four hours showing me how to write up reports. It was very boring." Harry said. "You alright?"

"No one likes the paperwork side of it." Tonks said. "I'm not awful, it's just that St Mungo's will only give Aurors so many pain potions. We get injured too much, so they don't want to risk dependency. I just came down because I can't sleep and didn't want to wake Remus, I don't want him thinking he needs to stay home with me while I recover. I suppose it's lucky we're not Muggles, having to heal from half this shit without healing spells speeding it up would be a lot worse."

"I don't think half of this shit would happen if we were Muggles." Harry said. "I am sorry." He added after a moment.

"For what? You didn't do anything." She said.

Harry sat on the other side of the couch. "If I could have remembered more of the dreams, maybe this could have been avoided." Harry said. "I thought... I thought you died."

"I thought I did too, for a moment." She said. "There was this moment, after I passed out. I almost felt like I was waking up, and I was just so cold. Nothing hurt, and then I realised I was just so tired. And God, I was cold. I really thought Bellatrix had finally done it."

Harry was picking at his nails. "There's only three of them now. I thought that meant you must have died, I thought for a moment the figures were the people who died-"

Tonks' eyes snapped up to meet his. "How do you know they're not? Maybe they're meant to be, but-"

Harry shook his head. "The other two aren't the right heights to be Fred or Remus, I noticed that a while ago and now I'm sure of it. I'm not sure about Colin. I think they're the people meant to die instead."

"But you always described the woman as me, so-"

"Like you." Harry said. "A description Bellatrix could fit, if you took away all the... all the crazy. I never can see their faces clear enough."

"So now you think it was always meant to be Bellatrix instead of me? What about the others?"

"I don't know. Like I said,-"

"Yes, I know what you've said." She sounded a bit impatient. "What do they look like? Maybe you need to tell us more details-"

"I don't see much-"

"You see more than you're saying, don't you?" Tonks asked. "You can't see their faces, but you must be able to see something else. Some kind of hint, something we can use to avoid something happening? Maybe you just missed something in one of your dreams? Something that could have shown Diagon Alley?"

"I'm sorry. If I could remember anything, I would tell you lot." Harry said. "And I will, but sometimes I wake up and realise I've forgotten. It's frustrating. I'm sorry- I'm trying-"

"No, I'm sorry." Tonks said. "It's not your fault. I just... feel wrong for hoping maybe it'll be the same outcome for Remus. I don't want someone else to die but I don't want to lose Remus too."

Harry could agree with that. It felt selfish, in a way. He wondered if it would be too much to ask that another Death Eater fall in Remus' place.

Late February

Tonks watched the rain fall from her perch on the covered stairs. It missed her bare toes by mere inches, the sound of the large droplets drumming against the thin roof of the back porch loud but relaxing.

It had taken almost an hour to convince Remus she would be fine if he didn't take time off of work when she was released from St Mungo's a few days after the attack. She could manage, and she had been.

Dawlish hadn't let her come back to the Ministry for a few weeks, because he insisted she and Neville needed the time to recover. It was easy to see Neville was having nightmares, even if he tried to act like he wasn't. He tried to act like the entire thing hadn't happened, and Tonks knew that wasn't a healthy way to handle it. The inquiry had resulted in nothing, as Dawlish had expected. Neville's actions were considered justified, and admirable, according to the council. He had managed to eliminate a huge threat.

It had now been three weeks and while Neville had been allowed to return the week before, she had only just been allowed by Healers to return. She had just finished a training shift and found it had exhausted her more than before, but Tonks promised they'd be ready for the practice exams they would have to take in two weeks. She had wondered if Neville's would be delayed, but it didn't sound like they would be. All Auror trainees were being forced to do them, and then in December, they'd have their first round of proper exams. Then they'd have practice exams again the following March and their final exams in December. Then they'd be qualified and partnered off with other Aurors.

Tonks wondered if they'd keep this format for training in the future. All of her exams had been at the same time. It had been terrible.

She couldn't duel with them still, due to Healers refusing to clear her to do so, but they didn't need it. They had returned to working on making sure they remembered protocols because she was certain that's what the first half of testing would cover- and wandless summoning of their wands. Neville had admitted he hadn't tried, he had managed to find his near where he landed. She had panicked and forgotten to, but she wanted them to make it their first instinct.

Remus had been oddly happy when he found out what Harry had seen. He didn't seem to like the idea that someone else could die instead, but he insisted that even if it meant one of them was around to raise Teddy, he could find peace if Harry's visions meant he would not survive.

Tonks didn't like that.

She heard footsteps, and while she hadn't heard the Floo, she knew they belonged to Remus.

Sure enough, Remus sank onto the step next to her. "Would you have been happy?" She asked after a moment.

"With what?" Remus asked.

"About the baby. If I hadn't lost it."

"I think I would have been scared." Remus said, after a moment. "Not about my condition, this time, but because things don't feel stable yet."

Tonks nodded.

"We never even discussed it." He said. "If we even wanted more."

She looked towards him. "Do you?"

"I think... one day." He said. "Maybe not very soon, but one day. If we were to discuss it, how many do you want?"

Tonks' eyes flicked up to meet his gaze. "I haven't considered." She said. "I just don't want Teddy to be an only child."

"So, the answer is somewhere between one and ten?"

"Ten?!" Tonks demanded. "That better not be your answer! I would say maximum three, and that's only because we have three rooms if Harry moves out."

"I didn't mean I wanted ten." Remus said. "I think I'd be happy with two."

"You think? Well, if you end up wanting more than three, you'll need a second wife."

Remus wrapped his arm around her. "Sounds like too much work." He said quietly. "Two or three would be fine. Ideally, before I'm too far into my forties, I'd like to see them finish Hogwarts."

"That's not a long time, you'll be thirty nine in a few days." Tonks said.

"Well, we can discuss it again in a few months." Remus said. "We don't need to decide right now."

"We could have one in a year and you drop after a full moon in five." She said quietly. "That's what scares me."

Remus squeezed her shoulder. "I know." Remus said. "And if that should happen, Dora..."

She shook her head. "It won't, it can't-"

"It could." Remus said. "And if it does, I don't want whatever time left to be clouded by the very real possibility that you could outlive me."

She leaned towards him, her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to think about it."

"Then we won't." He said. He tightened his grip, pulling her closer to him. "Have you heard anything about Petra's trial?"

She shook her head. "They got you to trial so quickly but this has taken..."

"Appleson pushed it ahead." Remus corrected. "With the work to make trials fair, it's bound to take time to get through them."

"If you were asked, would you speak against her?"

"Yes, without hesitation." Remus said. "I know Nathan is already planning to."

"You've been speaking with him?"

"No, I hadn't heard from him until today." Remus said. "He wrote to me this morning, he's apparently helping the Ministry with the new department."

Tonks nodded. She knew that. She had overheard it when she had been training the boys before the attack. Werewolf Support Services had hired a few werewolves, she had heard, while trying to help others find employment. They still had to have non-werewolf employees to keep things running during full moons.

"Also, Horace has offered to brew the Wolfsbane this month." Remus said. "So you don't have to."

"I appreciate that." She said, taking his hand between both of hers. They were quiet for a few minutes, before she spoke again. "Let's get remarried. Now. We can go down to the Ministry and just do it."

"I thought you wanted to get remarried on the same day, less anniversaries to remember?"

"I don't actually care about that kind of stuff, Remus. I think it would cancel it out anyway, right? It's just, you keep discussing the fact werewolves don't generally live as long as wizards and you're still worried about Harry's vision- I can tell- and I just want to actually be your wife again." Tonks said.

Remus squeezed her hand. "Okay." He stood first, helping her up. "You don't suppose Molly will be angry if she misses this one too, right? She was so disappointed last time-"

"Harry should be our witness." Tonks said. "Everyone else will hopefully understand. Plus, it's raining. Muggles say that's good luck."

"Well, we could use some good luck..."

March

The training room had been transformed, now holding desks. There were only six trainees left, so the room was still mostly empty. All of the desks were spread apart, quills and ink waiting for them.

"The exam will last four hours." Said an older woman with dark hair, wearing dark magenta robes. "For the first portion, you have one hour. As Aurors, you are expected to have a thorough knowledge of the Ministry's protocols. Failure to do so will result in expulsion from the program. After this portion is completed, you will have a three hours practical exam, where you will be given a recreation of a case and a partner. You will be expected to use everything you've learned so far to solve it. You will not be partnered with the trainee you have been working with."

That made Harry nervous, even though he knew the rest of the trainees. He was comfortable working with Neville. It wasn't that he didn't want to work with anyone else - especially Ron - he was just comfortable.

As soon as they were told to start, he found himself breezing through the exam. Unlike at Hogwarts, where he really hated to study, he had actually managed to focus on studying for this. It didn't hurt that Tonks was far more interesting than some of the Professors, and this wasn't a subject like Divination or History of Magic. It was something he actually wanted to learn.

Some of it was hard to remember, but by the time the end of the exam was called, he was certain he had done better than any of his Hogwarts exams.

It was over forty minutes later that everyone was paired up. Harry wound up with Dean. They were all let back into the training room, now transformed again. The desks they had taken their exams on were paired off, covered in files.

"You will be given everything you need to know about the cases in front of you. It is your task to narrow down the suspect list and solve it." The witch said. "You have three hours."

Harry was still reading over the details when Dean spoke. "Disgusting..." He muttered. "Do y'think this is something that's possible, though?"

"I hope not." Harry responded. It was a case about a dark wizard cutting off hands just to see if he could reanimate humans from the severed limbs. Turns out, he could not, though Harry was unsurprised. He hoped this type of case wasn't a common one.

October, 1999

Ginny had practically moved in, as soon as she was done with Hogwarts. She would never see Harry otherwise, because she immediately started a Quidditch training camp and Harry was busy with training. She had argued with her mother about whether or not Quidditch was a worthwhile long-term career. Within a few weeks, though, they were fine with each other. Ginny still stayed most nights. Hermione joined the Ministry, working as an intern to the Magical Patrol Office under Penny. Tonks and Remus had to quickly get used to Ron or Hermione visiting too, but made sure Harry knew they didn't mind. Remus was simply not used to having people over all of the time.

There had been a mixed reaction when the news that they had eloped spread. Most did not seem surprised. Others, like Molly and her mother, were disappointed that there was no celebration. Together, Molly and Andromeda hosted a dinner to celebrate it and Andromeda gave Remus Ted's ring when she found out his own had been lost sometime after the battle.

And then together, Molly and Andromeda hosted another dinner, and then another. And soon, getting everyone together seemed to be a weekly event.

Molly invited everyone for dinner at the Burrow that week, where she once again obsessed over Teddy. "Have you considered having more?" Molly asked as Teddy toddled away from Remus and towards Charlie on the other side of the living room. He was babbling, but they were certain he didn't know what he was actually saying. They certainly didn't.

The only thing they knew that he knew, was when he tried to say 'Harry', which for some reason had come before any attempt to say 'Mama' or 'Dada'. Really, he just pointed at Harry and said 'Hay', but they had figured out what he meant quickly. Then, Teddy decided he knew how to say 'Dada', but still hadn't said 'Mama'. Tonks said she was going to ban Remus and Harry from contact with any future kids until they said 'Mama' first.

"We haven't decided." Remus said, taking Tonks' hand as she sat on the arm of the armchair he was sitting in. "We figure there's no rush. Dora's young, there's time to decide later."

Remus was a smooth liar, Tonks noticed. If it was any other man, she might find herself losing trust, but she noticed when he did it, she was hardly phased. He only really lied about unimportant things, though. And often, to save her from an unpleasant situation(like Sirius walking in on them once, and Remus insisting it had never happened before- a complete lie, but one that stopped Sirius from pouting that he was never told anything), but this time she knew it was to avoid any uncomfortable conversations. They hadn't discussed any plans for a sibling for Teddy since February, and hadn't even discussed the miscarriage until September, when they realised they would have had the baby by then. Still, no one else knew- except Harry now, when he accidentally overheard them talking in the kitchen.

September had also brought Petra's trial, but they hadn't been told about it until it was already over. Nathan had spoken against Petra and so had more than half of the werewolves belonging to the pack, so it had been quick for Petra to be sentenced. Tonks wondered if Remus was disappointed to not be able to face her again.

"You know, after the last war, there were so many babies born in the first couple of years." Molly remarked. "Teddy's year may be small, but I would imagine the next ones would be large, maybe some of our grandchildren finally-"

"Finally? Mum, we've only been married two years and no one else has even got that far. You can't say 'finally' yet. I still blame Tonks for putting this baby nonsense into your head. Haven't had any peace since you helped deliver Teddy." Bill said, as he walked by Molly. "You really had to remind her we were adults, huh?"

Tonks rolled her eyes at Bill. "I'm sorry I didn't consider your feelings when I accidentally got pregnant. We really should been more considerate, Remus."

"Apparently." Remus said with a small laugh.

Molly tutted at Bill. "I'm simply saying, we're getting older and it would be lovely if we got to share our days with grandchildren soon-"

"You'll have one in May."

Molly shrieked in delight, jumping up to give Fleur a massive hug. Everyone crowded the two to give their congratulations, and Bill ended up near Tonks and Remus after a few moments, after they gave both Bill and Fleur hugs and then backed off. "Maybe this'll finally bring the two of them together." Bill said, nodding to where Molly was still excitedly talking to Fleur. "Teddy may like having a friend near his age, huh?"

"Of course." Remus said, squeezing her hand, as if he had felt the same weight that had caused her heart to sink. Sure, Teddy could have a friend near his age, but it suddenly seemed entirely unfair that he wouldn't have a sibling that close to his age. Then again, Tonks knew there was no guarantee in closeness regardless of any age gaps- Ginny and Bill were the closest out of all of the Weasley siblings and they were nearly a decade apart. Ginny and Ron were closest in age, yet they always seemed to pick at each other. Yet, Tonks kind of yearned for the days she'd have to tell her own kids to stop bickering the way Molly did with Ron and Ginny.

They didn't stay long after that, mostly because they needed to get Teddy to bed before he got too cranky.

"Is it wrong to feel a bit jealous?" Tonks asked Remus as they put Teddy to bed. His hair was currently a soft lilac. Remus rubbed her shoulders gently. "I mean, not that they're... just that we didn't get to have ours."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "No, I think it's normal." He said. "Sometimes, when I'm teaching, I wonder what they would have been like. What it would be like if we had two kids in Hogwarts so close together. If they'd look like you, if they would have been a girl or another boy."

Hot tears spilled out of her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, turning to face him. "Why didn't you tell me you were grieving like that?"

"I'm sorry." He said. "Sometimes, I think I forget that I'm not alone anymore."

She rested her head against his chest. They were quiet for a moment, Teddy asleep in his bed beside them. "I do want another." Tonks finally said. "I'd have to test every few weeks to make sure I got pulled from active duty as soon as possible, but I can finish training the-"

Remus cut her off with a kiss. "Okay, let's have another."

December, 1999

Roofie and Tonks stared at the files in front of them. It was time for Neville and Harry to follow along on a real case, and this case would be shared among all of the trainees, but they were split into three different taskforces. Savage, Williamson and his trainees would handle tracking locations. Proudfoot, Jefferson(an American Auror who decided to stay when half of the others went home following Tristan's death) and his trainees would gather intelligence. Tonks, Roofie and her trainees were going to be handling the undercover work now that her abilities had returned. It had been over the course of a few days, different subtle things began to change- her nose seemed to revert back to her preferred one on its own one day, her hair became lighter another day, and then finally she had woken up with blue eyes. How or why she had lost it for so long only to get the ability back was a mystery to her. She was just glad it came back, in time for this case.

The dragon smuggling ring from the French Ministry's investigations had moved again. Now, two girls had disappeared in London. Their Ministry had found the girls' IDs in the same neighbourhood, near where the two had been seen last. Reports of the Imperius Curse being used had brought them back to the same area.

So now their Ministry had to deal with it.

And unfortunately, they needed someone to get the attention of the breeding ring's scouts.

And as was usual with cases like this, Tonks was the perfect person to do it. She could teach Harry and Neville more about undercover work, but they would only be able to go with her for a short time. The men who were kidnapping girls would never approach a group.

Savage's group had found an address to an empty warehouse that Muggles believed was abandoned. They discovered it was shielded by a Muggle-Repelling Charm. And in order to track the dragon group more effectively and prove they were using this warehouse, they had to send someone to be snatched.

Unfortunately, that was Tonks' job. So she made herself younger by a few years. She gave herself bright blonde hair and dark eyes. The others- Roofie, Harry and Neville- would be disguised and in Muggle clothes nearby, but they would be using Polyjuice and because they weren't girls, the scouts wouldn't go for them.

She knew only two things could force her to drop her disguise- death or the Cruciatus. She could hold the form through nearly anything else. She was a little worried now, that perhaps because of the temporary loss of the ability she may have trouble, but she was hopeful. Whether or not she'd encounter the man she did in Paris, she did not know, so she hoped her disguise would hold. She supposed it was lucky that she hadn't gotten pregnant yet, so she could help on this case. It gave Harry and Neville more hands-on experience, which would help them with their first round of real exams at the end of the month.

"So, it sounds like everyone talks about this Elroy guy." Roofie said. "But how come no Aurors have seen him?"

"Maybe they have, and just don't know it was him." Tonks said, flipping through a file. "A lot of these people who have been followed are unidentified. If he's the one leading the whole thing, he's not going to share his real identity if anyone's actually spoken to him. No description of him?"

"Nothing."

"I'll keep an ear out." Tonks said. "Are we sure the coins will work?"

"We tested them." Roofie said.

"They always worked at Hogwarts." Neville said.

"Yes, but sending a location within Hogwarts is different. You all would have been in close proximity." Tonks said. "We aren't sure how far the distance could be this time."

"It worked between my Mum's and your house." Roofie said. "That's miles away. Don't worry, we got this-"

"Don't worry, sure. We're pretty sure these girls became dragon food, sorry that I'm a little worried that my backup might not be able to track me."

"One way or another, we will." Roofie said. "I'm going to show them how to track Apparition points. Let's get a move on, we're supposed to be there by sunset."