Chapter 2 Edits 3 7/2024
Four weeks after their first introduction, Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin were working together again. They usually both ended up sleeping in the spare rooms of number 12 Grimmauld place after every Order meeting, which were becoming more and more common as problems and suspicions arose.
The Weasleys were coming to stay for the remainder of the summer, so the Grimmauld Place trio had one more day to fully clean out the needed rooms before the kids arrived.
Tonks rolled out of bed with a groan, feeling the effects of a mission gone wrong at work the day prior. She had a simple routine check with Kingsley at a known Death Eater hide-out. It very quickly turned into a madhouse full of dark wizards who were far more prepared to fight than she initially anticipated. There were no serious injuries, just nasty bruises, and a few deep cuts- from falling over the sidewalk and well aimed hexes.
Remus and Sirius didn't know the details of the day, but Tonks was hoping to keep it that way as she morphed over the worst of the injuries, and dressed for another day of de-dark-artsing the house.
She heard a soft knock on her door, and called a welcome. Remus pushed it open slowly, wearing his normal, bookish, professor type clothing, hair falling around his face. He glanced up at her, unsure of what to say as she waited expectantly for the reason to which he knocked on her door. She didn't mind though, acknowledging privately in her head that she was falling for him more and more everyday, and fighting not to act on it. He glanced around the room and she blushed slightly. The longer she stayed the more of her things ended up in the room to stay- the more it looked like she lived there.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing, then." Remus stated lamely as the now pink haired woman stared back at him. She cracked a small smile, more like a knowing smirk, and stacked fallen books neatly by her bed before responding.
"I'm all set to brave the unknown if you are." She said, her voice confident, taking a few steps toward him and the open door. Sirius was downstairs, making the basement ready for the coming full moon in just three days. It was something Tonks had yet to mention to him, whether out of politeness or fear, Remus wasn't ready to find out; so he remained just as radio silent about it as she.
"Alright, good." Remus stated, not mentioning her lack of desire to eat breakfast, and deciding to simply get on with it for the time being, "I'm thinking we should split up for the easy rooms, but the really bad ones obviously work together. Sirius says the top floor is the worst, and his mother's room would be a close second."
Tonks nodded as he spoke, pulling her hair back into a large clip before saying uncertainly, "So do we take the easy ones, or the hard ones first?" Remus pondered the thought for a moment, before pointing up the stairs.
"Let's start up there in one room, and if we decide we need a break we can come back down and do some of the less dark ones, assuming Sirius's theory is correct, that is." He added, realising that his friend had moved out at nearly fifteen, and wouldn't have any reason to know which rooms were the worst; unless of course he had gone in himself and checked, but Remus couldn't really see the man doing that, especially on his own.
Tonks nodded in agreement, before placing her foot on the stair to lead up to the attic. "I take it we'll be sending ladies first?" She asked, making a light joke, although Remus could see her eyes weren't in it, he nodded handing her an easy wink.
"I do like to believe that I can keep true chivalry alive." He said, hoping it would make her smile a bit more than she was now. She didn't strike him as one to fear dark creatures in dark bedrooms, so he had either read her terribly wrong, or there was some greater problem that was bothering her. Both ideas were equally displeasing, he realised, as they walked up the steps.
"Which door is your favourite?" Nymphadora called over her shoulder as she reached the final landing at the top.
"First one on your left." Remus called, having no idea what the doors even looked like being that he had never been up that far in the house before that moment. Tonks laughed, seeming to know he didn't know what he was talking about before pushing the door open when he was ready.
The pair stumbled in the room ready to face whatever dark and dangerous things could have been lurking behind the walls; wands up, stances firm and strong.
It was the silence that was both comforting and terrifying in one simple shot. Two sets of eyes scanned the room. Tonks cautiously walked over to the closet door on the side, Remus just one step behind her.
She placed her hand on the doorknob, and just before she twisted it a subtle sound could be heard inside. It prepared them for motion, for something, but neither knew what. Remus set his hand on her shoulder, silently asking her to wait as he considered every dark creature that would appreciate the darkness of a closet.
Every dark creature would. He sighed, almost inaudibly, and removed his hand. She pulled the door open quickly and stepped back. Both had their wands ready, both anticipating the worst.
Which is exactly why Remus Lupin had no idea how to respond when Nymphadora Tonks ran out of the closet.
Well not really her. But sort of her. It was her, but she looked very different. Her hair was brown, and longer. Her eyes were bigger, which shocked him in the essence of their beauty, her figure was smaller, frailer, more pixie like. He glanced back to the real Tonks in front of him, still unsure of what was happening. He was racking his brain for situations like this one. But nothing seemed to make much sense.
That is until the fake Tonks collapsed on the ground, in tears. And the real one turned to face him, her eyes huge.
A boggart.
Nymphadora quickly gathered herself and performed the spell, watching as the boggart shrunk into a doll, and with a mirthless laugh from the witches mouth, it was just about to check on her when an identical Tonks ran out of the closet, without a thought she performed the spell again, making sure not to look at Remus when she was done.
Then a third ran out. Well tried to run out. It barely made it to the door before the real Tonks vanished it.
Remus was ready now, waiting for another one. It never came. In its place a huge, boney wolf bound out of the closet, covered in blood. Remus jumped back, assuming it wasn't his, Tonks performed the spell quickly, and looked back at him. She didn't have time to speak though as two more Tonk's appeared, one was like the first three, but the other was crawling out of the closet, bleeding all over. Both were crying.
Remus barely had time to blink before the wolf came back out, bounding after the injured Tonks.
His mind went blank. He couldn't think of the spell. All he could see was himself in wolf form killing the woman beside him. She screamed in terror as the wolf pinned her down, the huge paw pressing firmly on the centre of her chest, he heard bones crunching beneath the weight of it, the fake Tonks screaming louder, as blood began to seep through her shirt.
The boggart disappeared, as did the second Tonks, and real Tonks slammed the closet door shut.
Remus looked up, and saw her hands were shaking. He opened his mouth to speak, but found that no words were able to come out. Tonks took in a shaking breath. He had never seen her so impacted. He reached out to her, "Tonks…" Neither knew what to say to the other. Remus was hoping she assumed she had some hidden fear of wolves, but the way she looked at him implied otherwise.
"Nymphadora… what was that?" He asked, knowing she would understand that he was referring to herself running out of the closet, alone and unmorphed.
Alone. And unmorphed. That was her biggest fear. Loneliness and overexposure. Loneliness and vulnerability.
He took a step toward her again, wanting to tell her in some way that she wasn't alone. He saw her eyes growing wet, he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to make her feel like she had to let him in. But he knew after what he just saw he couldn't possibly leave her alone.
"Remus." Her voice broke a little, and he threw caution to the wind at the sound. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms, he held her as she began to hyperventilate, then picked her up when she started to cry. He carried her into his room, and set her on his bed as her tears flowed more freely, and stroked her hair as he realised his greatest fear had changed.
As he realised he loved her.
She didn't speak, simply held tightly to him, allowing herself to be a piece of her worst fear. Allowing herself to be exposed. Her tears slowed, her breathing returned mostly to normal, and Remus finally lay his head down next to hers.
Her eyes were red rimmed and unguarded. Without thinking he reached for her hand and held it in his.
"Tonks." He whispered. She closed her eyes, her hair had slowly turned to a blue black at some point in her emotions. He wasn't sure when anymore.
"Dora." He whispered again, his voice more stern, more professorly. She opened her eyes, staring straight into his. He said the only thing he could think to force out at the moment. "You will never be alone." Her eyes grew wider, he watched her pupils change as they did. She didn't say anything for a moment.
"Rem." She called him, as if she nicknamed him every day. He was already looking into her eyes, so he simply waited for her to finish. Her voice was hoarse from crying, so it was a raspy whisper when she said.
"You will never hurt me." The actual concept of the sentence should have been perceived as commanding. But based on everything they had seen before, it was gentler. It wasn't an order, it was an observation. An allowance for comfort she knew he would try and deny himself.
He reached forward and brushed his fingers through her hair. Her eyes fluttered shut as she did so and he watched as she continued to relax herself. He set his hand on her shoulder, but pulled back quickly when he saw her visibly wince.
He pulled his hand away, rashly deciding the flinch was a result of her sudden fear of him as a werewolf. Her eyes opened and she shook her head at him
"No, Remus…" She knew what he was thinking. "It's not you…" She began. His eyes told her he was unconvinced.
"It's okay, Tonks, I understand." He made to sit up and she pulled him back down.
"No, trust me." She said, still softly. He wasn't buying it. She huffed loudly and adjusted her position so she could pull the sleeve of her shirt down to reveal her shoulder and bicep. He watched her eyes grow sad and held onto her hand in an attempt to relax her.
"Dora... " He had taken to calling her that just one day before. He was slowly falling in love with the way it suited her. "What are you…" He couldn't finish as he watched the skin on her shoulder go from the pink pale it normally was to a deep purple and yellow. A bruise that covered almost her whole shoulder appeared, and he couldn't help his eyes from popping out.
He opened his mouth to speak and she shook her head. Sitting up she pulled the shirt over her head, thankful she was wearing a tank top under it. He watched as she let part of her morph drop, and deep scratches and bruises appeared all over her arms, and the exposed parts of her back.
She was sitting up now, her head hanging, so he couldn't see her eyes.
"Dora. Is this from work?" He asked slowly, reaching for his wand so he could begin healing her. She nodded once, her black hair flopping. "I'm going to heal these now." He didn't wait for permission, just went in casting healing charms over the worst looking ones first, then moving to the smaller ones. Some of the bruises wouldn't go away, and some of the scars didn't heal, but it was progress, and he hoped it felt somewhat better for her.
"Nymphadora," He began trying to keep his voice a combination of stern and gentle. He looked up, her eyes guarded again. "You come to me next time you are hurt. No questions asked. Just healing. We both know there are some charms too advanced to perform on yourself. So next time you come to me." He was angry at her for hiding it, angry at himself for not knowing, angry at Sirius for not warning them about the boggart.
He was just angry at the world.
"Thanks Remus." Tonks said, standing up and stretching. She waited a pause before shaking out her hair, and turning it pink once more. Remus smiled at her, but it didn't reach his ears, as he quickly noticed the pink was many shades darker than it had been this morning, and there was nothing he could do in the moment to change that.
"I think I'll call Bill and King and they can take care of the other rooms. I'll tell them it was too tiring so close to the full moon." He said. Much to his shock, she simply nodded in agreement.
She began to walk to the door but stopped just outside the door frame. "Remus?" She called without turning around.
"Yes?" He acknowledged her, already knowing what she was going to say, but allowing her the chance anyway.
"Let's keep this between us, okay?" She said, her head turned so all she could see was her too dark hair, and her bare shoulder, tense with the stress of the last hour.
"Of course, I was hoping we would have equal understanding there." He said, wanting her to know he would like her secret kept just as much as she would. She nodded once,
"I'll be downstairs. Making tea. You come along when you're ready." She was giving him time alone in her words, but he really knew that she was asking for time alone. He nodded, knowing he couldn't see her, but letting her have her time anyway. It was when he heard her shout his name in panic that Remus forgot his desire to give her space and rushed to her side. When he arrived in the kitchen downstairs Dumbledore was standing there, looking at Nymphadora with an amused seriousness. Her wand tightly held in her hand, still at her side but ready to strike if needed.
"Tonks, my dear, I see no reason for you to fear me." The headmaster said, his voice holding its usual calm slowness. Remus was instantly on edge.
"Security question?" He asked the pink haired woman next to him, grabbing hold of his wand in his pocket, ready for anything.
Dora shook her head, "it's him." She was leaving something out. Dumbledore watched them curiously. Remus took half a step so he was just barely in front of Tonks. She slid her hand in his, her grip firm.
"What is it then?" Remus asked her, his voice soft and gentle, knowing she wouldn't be this nervous over nothing.
"There are two others behind him." She whispered, her lips barely moving. Dumbledore made moves to try and hear her, but Remus knew her voice was too soft. There was no way.
"Nymphadora, please state your concerns." The older man said, glancing down at their intertwined hands with a smile, as if this was a casual conversation over tea.
"Well sir," Tonks began, her voice holding edge and caution, "I am wondering why you have brought two people in this house disillusioned behind you." She gestured over his shoulder with her head. Remus looked at her like she was crazy.
"Dora…" He began, ready to apologise to the headmaster for her rudeness, and explain it away with lack of sleep.
The older man shook his head and smiled at the pixie next to Remus. "You, miss Tonks, are a very talented auror. Moody taught you well. How did you see them?" He asked, making no move to reveal the people behind him. Remus was shocked, glancing around Dumbledore trying to see what Tonks was talking about.
"They moved. As I came down. Shifted just slightly. Air doesn't ripple, sir." She said, still holding her wand tightly at her side. Remus slipped his out of his pocket, now eyeing whoever was behind the headmaster suspiciously, though still unable to see them.
"Where is Sirius?" The man asked, as if there were not two vigilant order members ready to battle him at any moment. Remus had never shown Nymphadora the extent of his magical abilities, but he didn't think fighting Dumbledore would be a good place to start.
Fight dumbledore? Of course he's not worried. He could take us down with a blink, probably. Remus had also never considered who would win in a battle between him and the headmaster, because it had never had to come to that.
He suddenly realised the severity of the situation, he positioned himself further in front of Nymphadora, who had the same revelation, gripping his hand even tighter if that were possible.
"Upstairs." Remus's reply was quick, to the point, and a total lie. "What's going on?" Remus knew he trusted this man, but something was off here.
"Sit down Remus." The headmaster said, walking over to the table and taking a slow seat at the head of it. Tonks didn't flinch as the two chairs next to him pulled out as well, clearly occupied by their unknown guests. She slipped in the seat as far from the headmaster as she could get. Remus right behind her. The tension in the air was practically visible. Broken only when the basement door was thrown open and Sirius stepped out.
"Moony, I think I figured out the best way to-" his words cut short when he saw the scene in front of him. Dumbledore looked pointedly at Remus for his lie, but remained otherwise quiet.
"Come sit Sirius. I think we need to speak all together." Remus said, sighing in relief as Padfoot took the seat on the other side of Nymphadora. He wanted her to be protected.
"What's going on?" Tonks asked again, her voice holding more edge than before.
"You cannot tell anyone about what I am going to tell you. Because I will have to obliviate you." Dumbledore began, and the tone of his voice made clear he was not joking. Tonks tensed beside Remus, who slid his hand back into hers without thinking. "I am going to show you who is beside me. If you so much as stand up, I will Obliviate your memories, and leave. And you will not remember this at all."
"Albus…" The voice next to him whispered. The sharp look from the headmaster silenced it. Tonks gasped quietly beside Remus, growing far more curious as to who was sitting at their table.
"Do you understand?" He asked, the familiar twinkle in his eye all but gone. The three order members sitting at the table nodded in unison, each equally on edge.
"Okay then." He pulled out his wand. Tonks stood at her chair. The headmaster froze. "Nymphadora." He rebuked her calmly.
"Well sir, if I'm standing now, I won't jump later." She said, clearly willing to fight him on this topic. The old man pondered for a moment before nodding. Remus and Sirius stood beside her.
"Don't move." The man said to no one in particular yet everyone at the same time. He pulled out his wand, and slowly but surely two figures appeared in the seat beside him. Remus saw flashes of black and red hair and began to think that the headmaster had snuck Harry and Ginny into the house.
But it wasn't them. Tonks got it first, and raised her wand up to the table, her hand steady, pointing directly at Dumbledore. He had yet to move as the figures appeared more fully. Remus felt his legs weakening as he looked at the people to the side of the headmaster. He felt Tonks push him into his seat.
"What the hell?" She asked him angrily, her wand still pointing directly at Dumbledore. He didn't move. Simply watched as James Potter stood up in his seat.
"Tonks, is it?" He asked. Her wand shot to his face. Remus couldn't move, Sirius couldn't help. Dumbledore merely smiled. "He said you would put up a fight. So I want to warn you I'm a rather good dueler." He cracked a cautious smile, but pulled a wand from his pocket anyway, pointing it at her. Without a single thought Remus was on his feet again, his best friend disarmed with a look of shock on his face.
Not your best friend. James is dead. James is dead. Tonks looked at him approvingly before training her eyes back on James. Lily stood up next.
"Remus, that seemed hardly necessary…" She pulled her wand out anyway. A flick of Dora's wand and Lily's was in her hand. Remus's lip twitched to a smile as he watched her set the wand down, training her eyes on her head master.
"Explain." She demanded, in a way most would never dare to speak to Dumbledore. Usually Remus would have told her to respect him. But this was beyond logic.
"I forgot how good of a fighter you were, Nymphadora." The man said, standing quietly and pulling out his wand. Tonks froze even more still beside him, her hand shaking once as she looked at him. "Calm down." He said, detecting her change in stance, her readiness to fight. "I'm not here to kill you. And neither are they." He gestured to Lily and James who were both watching Tonks with a mixture of confusion and pride. Remus took a step closer to her. "Vitarme kedavra" the headmaster said, getting confused looks from Sirius and Tonks, and a gasp of shock from Remus.
This isn't James. Lily is dead. Vitarme has never been proven…
"Remus?" Tonks asked beside him, hoping he would explain to her what the headmaster just uttered. He shook his head, he wasn't ready for that.
"How did you keep them hidden?" He asked accusingly. "15 years? In hiding? I don't believe it." And he didn't. It didn't make sense. James raised his eyebrows.
"Moony, this is Dumbledore we're talking about. Nothing is beyond-"
"I'm sorry, but don't talk. Not yet." Remus snapped at the man, as Tonks set her hand on his arm.
"We didn't know if Voldemort would be coming back to power. I could not risk it." The old man said simply, not exactly answering the question.
"But Harry saw them. Their spirit." Sirius argued, looking as confused and hurt and Remus felt.
"Their split soul." Dumbledore said, as if it offered any true explanation to what was happening before them.
"This doesn't make sense." Tonks said, shaking her head. Remus was not letting his guard down.
"Why now?" He asked, growing suddenly angry. "Why not when Sirius escaped? Why not when I almost went to Greyback because I felt responsible? Why not when Snape made me lose my job? Why not when Harry almost died last year? Why not any other time than now?!" He didn't realise he was shouting, but when he did he didn't care.
"The time wasn't right." Albus spoke gently, despite Remus's outburst. "If you can't handle this than I can-"
"If you say obliviate him I will show you just how good a fighter I really am. Now what the hell is this bloody vitarme kedavra." Tonks said, her voice low and biting.
"Life, and love. Over death. Literally that's what it means," Remus began, anxiously turning his back to his friends behind him and giving his full attention to Tonks. "Voldemort tried to kill Harry. Lily stepped in front. The logical thought is it killed her. But her love for him caused the vitarme to be cast instead. It's wandless magic, usually that the caster doesn't even know they cast. But it's so powerful that it knocked her out, and evidently James too. The love was so powerful that it killed Voldemort. Well didn't kill him, but you know." Tonks nodded, glancing nervously at James and Lily behind him.
"I still don't get it." Tonks said, looking to Dumbledore for more explanation, not yet trusting that these people were who he said they were.
"I found them first, I realised what had happened, but vitarme has never been done without backlash, so there's never been a successful case because usually the unintentional caster ends up better off dead anyway. So I took them, and I gave them several months. They did not exactly remember what had happened, so I gave them time to put the pieces together, then I let them figure the rest out."
"And what, you just kept them in hiding for 15 years? Hoping they'd never get caught?" Tonks was several steps beyond angry, and she wanted answers faster than she was being given them
"Well we spent some time in the muggle ministry-"
"Government," Lily cut James off. "We talked through how to prepare for war and the impact of this spell that we were still figuring out. We worked closely with them to run tests and make sure everything was actually okay, then yes. We hid. For about five years now."
"Why?" Sirius asked, his voice a broken whisper as he thought through the time he was forced to spend in prison.
"We needed to make sure it was safe. We needed Voldemort to think we were dead and if he rose back to power, and we needed to really make sure nothing bad had happened, especially with the split soul thing that I still don't understand. But the time is right, and we still need to hide, but now we need to hide with you all, because now there is work to be done, and if he finds out we're alive, we'll just have to be ready."
"So… That's really them?" Tonks asked, her eyes widening slightly. "Harry has parents?" She asked, looking from them to Remus quickly.
He nodded, one time, still unsure, still on edge. Sirius threw caution to the wind.
"Prongs." He rushed over and threw his arms around the man in an unusual display of affection that was matched, if not exceeded by James. Lily wiped at a tear in her eye.
"Remus…" She said slowly, walking around the table toward him. He grabbed at Tonks's hand again, drawing strength from her warmth.
"Lily…" He said just as uncertainly, not moving toward her, but not moving away. Dora stepped toward her.
"I'm Tonks." She said, holding out the hand that Remus wasn't holding to shake Lilys. The redhead smiled, looking at their hands together, then to Remus.
"I didn't think he'd ever find anyone…" She said slowly, just as she was saying everything else. Tonks didn't argue. Not when she wasn't sure herself at this point what she was to Remus. He didn't argue either. She could stop the smile that played on her lips when she realised that.
"Good. Good. But we do have a great deal to discuss. Like what we are going to tell everyone when they come tomorrow. And how to tell Harry." The headmaster interrupted the reunion, and ushered for them all to sit down, the previous tension lessened but not forgotten.
"There are questions about the past that need answers," Tonks, being the only one who was fully able to hold her head out of the three of them, took control of the situation quickly. "But first the present seems pressing. Where are they sleeping?" She asked, looking at Dumbledore, but smiling slightly as Remus grabbed her hand again.
"Here." It wasn't a question, and Tonks had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the way he assumed that would be okay with them. Of course it was, but it was irritating to her nonetheless.
"Alright, so we'll have the Potters, Harry and the-" Lily cut her off.
"Harry is staying here too?" She asked, looking at Remus as if he was in charge instead of Albus.
Tonks waved her hand at the woman, continuing on her tirade with a huff. "We'll have the Potter's, Hermione, and Weasley's all in the house as well as Sirius, and Remus?" The man glanced over to her at the mention of his name, but didn't fail to miss that she left herself out.
"And you?" He asked her, eyebrows pinched in curious sadness at the thought of her not staying here with them. It didn't occur to him that there weren't enough bedrooms for them all, but thankfully Sirius didn't point that out.
"I do have a flat Remus, but we'll see."
"That is correct Miss Tonks." Dumbledore said, ignoring Remus's interruption and giving her a chance to continue on with her questioning.
"Okay, so obviously you're going to tell the order about all of this?" She said, stating it not as a question, but an order, not unlike the way the headmaster often spoke to them about missions.
"Of course, and I shall be the secret keeper, just like with the house." Tonks' eyes flashed once.
"You're going to do it on the kids too?" She asked, her stance angry, her hair still the dark black it was when she left the bedroom just minutes earlier.
"Yes, I would hardly call them-"
She cut Dumbledore off too, Remus felt himself gasp slightly as Dumbledore's eyes sparked like Tonks did. "No disrespect sir, but you know as well as I do that they are children. Whether they've gone through hell in life or not. You're going to perform the fidelius charm on them? Twice?" She asked, her voice rising with her temper, yet Remus made no move to calm her down.
"Yes." The response was quick, and Tonks huffed, shaking her head.
"Fine." She was angry, the tips of her hair turning the slightest shade of red. James's eyes trained onto it. "We tell them tomorrow then? At the meeting?" She asked, referring to the first meeting they would have with the family in the house. "And Harry, whenever he gets here?"
"Yes. And Harry is not to find out until he arrives." The older man added his voice stern and un-negotiable.
"When is he coming?" James asked suddenly, looking at the man with curious anger that Remus remembered well from their youth.
"That is undecided." Albus said, looking around the room and making eye contact with the five angry faces.
"I don't think you understand- we're here now he doesn't have to stay with his-" Dumbledore cut off whatever Lily was about to say. Her eyes narrowed at him, but she didn't say anything.
"I don't think you understand. We need to wait. And that's final." His voice was stern, something Remus hadn't heard from the man in a while.
While everyone in the room took a moment to calm their anxious nerves, a patronus came in, and disappeared. Remus realised it was private, and for the headmaster alone.
"Ah. It appears there's a situation that needs my attention. I will have to take my leave for now. But I will be back tomorrow for the meeting, with your things," he gestured to James and Lily, "until then, I believe you all have some catching up to do." He walked down the hall, and they heard the door shut, and the crack of apparition as he disappeared to wherever was more important than here. Tonks took a deep breath before collapsing into her chair, covering her face with her hands.
Remus, ignoring the way James and Lily were watching, leaned into her. "Dora? Are you okay?" He asked softly, worried she was still upset about the boggarts.
"I pointed my wand at him!" She shouted, dropping her hand and staring straight into him. Her huge grey eyes were filled with shock, and maybe some fear. "I pointed my bloody wand at Albus Dumbledore!" She huffed again, loudly, and Remus cracked a smile at her.
"You could have taken him." He joked with her, poking at her side. She simply huffed and rolled her eyes.
"Can't take a few boggarts, but I can take the most powerful wizard in the world? Yeah right," she shook her head, "Which reminds me, best get King and Moody here to fix the…" She trailed off looking at James and Lily.
"Oh." She said, looking back to Remus. "No one can come until tomorrow can they?" She asked, her voice just slightly more dejected than it was a moment ago. Remus pondered this as Sirius cut in.
"What's this about boggarts?" He asked, looking at Remus before understanding dawned on his face. "You went in the room on the left, didn't you?" It wasn't really a question. Remus let out a huff of breath before nodding. "Moony, there has to be hundreds of them in the closet. I didn't even think… I'm sorry mate. How many came out." Lupin glanced at Tonks whose eyes were guarded again, looking at her hands.
"Not hundreds." Remus said, startled at the thought of having to go back up there.
"But you're good with them," Sirius said, clearly missing the tone of his friend's voice. "Your's has been the full moon since we were in school. You were the boggart master, so I can imagine it must be easy enough for you to…" He trailed off as he saw the way Tonks was looking at Remus. Remus was distinctly trying not to see the way Tonks was looking at him
"Full moon?" She asked slowly, as Remus continued to stare down at his hands. James and Lily watched the interaction take place in front of them, their silence belying their curiosity.
"Mate, what did it come out to now?" Sirius asked slowly, not liking the look on Tonks Or Remus's face.
"It doesn't matter," James said suddenly, "We can all go up together, five hands work better than-"
"No!" Remus and Tonks said at the same time, both turning red as they realised their outburst. Sirius looked at both suspiciously, but didn't say anything.
"We'll leave it be for now. Mad-eye and I will go when he gets here." Tonks said firmly, ending the discussion for all but Remus.
"Nymphadora, you don't have to-"
"It's Tonks, Remus." She said, suddenly going cold on him. "And anyway, Mad-eye has seen my boggart, and knows how to handle mine and his. It'll be fine." Lily looked at the woman next to Remus, and couldn't help but wonder what she feared most. What part of her Remus saw that set her so on edge. With more vigour though she found herself wondering what about that witch changed her best friend's biggest fear, and how it happened so quickly.
"Well then, how about we spend some much needed time going over the last fifteen years, shall we?" James asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Let's make our way to the library to talk then." Remus said, not letting go of Tonks's hand as they led the group to their place of solace. The evening sped on with stories of the past and glasses of fire whiskey to fuel them. The pair of five was unlikely, and only once did James consider that Nymphadora filled the hole left by wormtail all those years ago. She completed something that he had destroyed, something James feared would never be whole again: Sirius and Remus's hearts.
He watched with curiosity as she listened to everything that was shared. Her eyes drinking in the information along her ears, her brain mapping the stories as if she could see them in her mind. He didn't miss the way she glanced periodically over to him and Lily, as if assessing if they were really there. She asked the right questions and inserted the right responses to every story that was shared, and when asked animatedly gave them a look into her own adventures in the castle not too many years prior. Her age struck him, but James and Lily couldn't miss how she was wise beyond her years in so many ways — too many ways they thought. Ways that went beyond the war, beyond her job. Ways that they would simply have to ask to find out about.
James's musings were cut short as the pink haired witch stood. "I should go back home tonight." She stated, her voice reflecting some disappointment at the thought. "Chloe will have my head if I don't get back there soon." She added, eliciting a snort of laughter from Sirius and Remus.
"Is Chloe your roommate?" Lily asked, standing alongside the girl who also laughed.
"My evil owl. Graduation gift from Mad-Eye so to speak. It's like he found the only owl who displayed constant vigilance! And attached it to me to keep me on my toes." Sirius stood next to her.
"It sounds like your day was a bit mad." He began placing a hand on her back, and subtly referencing the boggart mystery only she and Remus fully understood. "Stay with us one more night. I know you're off tomorrow; we can make Remus go out and get us donuts!" Her eyes glinted mischievously as the pair looked at Remus, and the Potters watched the girl again.
"Well if you're going to look at me like that how can I do anything but concede?" Remus stood with a good natured groan, receiving a small shove from the girl in response.
"Don't pretend like you're not just as eager for morning pastries every time we have this discussion" she retorted, walking down the hall with the group to their rooms. The trio led James and Lily to one they'd prepared for the Weasleys' pending arrival. The Potters stood in the doorway and watched as Sirius entered his own room, and Tonks and Remus entered his. Lily wondered if it wasn't the first time Tonks never came out and went into her own room. James's smile said he was wondering the same thing. They went to bed with many more questions, but more excitement for Remus than they'd felt since the seventh year when he'd gotten the engagement ring for Ellie- before she died.
James fell asleep to the sound of Lily's excited whispers of a hopeful future when all this war was behind them.