"What were the last words I said to Remus Lupin before sending him on an assignment for work?" He asked, stepping toward the door.
"Hurt my girl and I'll rip your throat out. Mad-Eye open the door, please!" The old man hesitated for a moment longer
"Who's with you?" He asked, his tone softening yet still harsh.
"A friend. From the group. Please!" Immediately Moody rushed to the door, pulling it open and holding out his arms. Remus stepped through the door, with a woman before him whom none of them had ever seen before. They were both carrying two mangled bodies, and upon making it through the door the girl fell to her knees and began to cry. Tonks hand flew to her mouth as she looked at the body in the young girls arms, and Remus's eyes jumped to her face.
"That's Hettie." He panted pointing to the woman in Moody's arms. "I couldn't check… the pulse… I couldn't…" James gathered what he was saying quickly and set his hands to the girls neck. He waited a pause, glancing over her body and taking in the extent of her injuries. He glanced at Lily before looking back to Remus, his eyes falling down.
"Who was she?" James asked quietly, watching Remus warily as he brought his hands up to his face.
"Hettie… she's…" He couldn't even finish.
"A healer." The other woman next to Remus said, standing from her place on the ground, leaving the man at her feet. "She was, at least." Alastor eyed the younger girl glancing at Remus before seemingly deciding he could trust her.
"What happened to them?" He gestured to the other man at the womans feet, voice remaining gentle. "And who are you?"
Remus's eyes shot to Tonks, and James was taken aback at the intensity of his stare. "This is Reya." He said, gesturing to the woman who was beginning to shake at his side. "Go sit." He tore his eyes from Tonks and looked at the girl, pointing to the couch, she wordlessly obeyed, carefully stepping around the body at her feet.
"We weren't careful enough." Remus whispered, eyes trailing back up to Tonks. "We weren't careful enough. And Greyback came early." Tonks's hand stayed over her mouth, and Lily watched her eyes fill with tears.
"He came, just before the moon, and he found us. And we were careful." The young witch, Reya, glanced over to Remus as she corrected him. "But he was stronger, and he knew how to get us when we were weak. I'd bet anything he took the potion… He was so in control." Remus shook his head as she spoke.
"It doesn't matter the details really. We couldn't get to the others." Alastor sighed heavily, a sound Lily hadn't ever heard from him in such a way.
"How many did you have with you?" He asked Remus.
"Five."
"How many made it?" Remus glanced at Reya, who was staring at the body on the floor still.
"Lynelle may be okay. She's smart. She's smart. She must be alright." Reya whispered as tears began to fall from her eyes again.
"Jonathan…" Remus turned his face away breaking off. "Christian…" He whispered the name so softly James barely heard it, but Tonks sank to her knees on the ground. "I'm so sorry Dora." Remus whispered to her.
"He was trying to help me." Reya whispered, and without thinking Lily walked over and pulled the girl into a tight hug. "He told me-"
"Reya." Remus gained his voice back. "It's okay. Don't do that right now." The girl nodded, her light hair falling in her face as she rested her head against Lily's shoulder. James watched Alastor glance from Tonks to Remus meaningfully. Lupin caught the hint quickly, and he took a step toward her.
"Tonks…" He whispered her name and her sad, dark eyes jumped to his. She was waiting for him. "Dora." He said, his voice holding more force. Reya suddenly sat up straighter staring at the brown haired woman in front of her.
"He kept all your letters. He Had them-"
"Remus." Tonks said, not even noticing the confused way Reya was watching her. "Stop talking." He nodded his head, taking another feeble step toward her. "Please stay home." She whispered, looking back to the man James understood to be Christian.
"Please come here." She looked up at him giving him the faintest smile before jumping to her feet and throwing herself into his arms. James reached out a cautious hand, remembering the full-moon had just passed, but adrenaline was pumping so hard in Remus he caught her swiftly, and steadied them from falling to the ground.
"Don't you ever do that to-"
"Dora stop talking." Remus commanded placing his hand on her hair. Mad-Eye gave a nod of approval to him before turning to James.
"I need to go talk to Albus, I'll be back shortly, we'll sort out the rest of this then. Can you keep everything together until then?" James could have laughed, but he bit his tongue and stuck to nodding.
"We will make sure no one dies. But Mad-Eye, what about the bodies…" He whispered the last part, and with a wave of the old man's wand the bodies disappeared. Nobody noticed thankfully, and Moody didn't mention where they went. He stepped into the fireplace and was gone in a puff of green smoke. Remus and Tonks pulled apart, and he slid a hand around her waist, holding her tightly to himself. James bit his cheek because it felt like an inappropriate time to smile, but watching Remus, he was basking in the proud best mate moment.
"You're Tonks." Reya whispered in shock, staring at the woman, Lily glanced over to her one eyebrow raised in confusion. Remus almost laughed, but he settled with placing a kiss on her temple and nodding.
"This is Tonks, Reya. This is-"
"You're person." James glanced over to Reya as she spoke, wondering what she was trying to say, liking the sound of it. "Christian said, well he said he'd seen you two together one time, and that even in that moment he could tell you were like one person. I didn't believe anyone could love someone... like us in that way. But she, well you," she looked up to Tonks. "You love him." A breath of air slipped out Tonks's nose as she turned to Remus.
"I do." She said, setting her head on his chest.
"We do too." Lily whispered, setting her hand on top of Reya's, leaving James to wonder if they were going to need a bigger flat.
"Reya, yes?" Tonks looked over to the young witch for one of the first times since they'd entered the house.
"Yes." She spoke softly.
"Reya…" Her dark eyebrows came together in deep thought. "Twenty two years of age... Ilvermorny, yes? You have a slight accent from America, that's certain. You were with Chris, he told me as much in his letters. I can't remember what else he said. Remus here talked you up last time he was home, before Christmas that is. This was all still new to all of us." Tonks rattled on encouragingly, leading Remus over and sitting with him on the chair as she spoke. She paused for a moment as she pulled his head to rest on her shoulder, shimmying accordingly so she was sure he was comfortable. Reya watched the entire event with a confused smile on her face, her eyes difficult to read in their state of pure exhaustion.
"I didn't even realize you were American." Remus muttered, his eyes closed against Dora's shoulder.
"Neither did Rolfin when he bit me. I haven't spoken to my parents in months. They probably think I died."
"You did choose the worst possible time to come to England. Did you know we were on the verge of war?" She cast him a weary smile that didn't fit her reserved personality.
"Believe it or not, I'm a journalist for my 'ministry.' as you'd call it. For us it's just the government. I mean, I was… a journalist, that is. I was. I was coming to report on this war actually. Or the lack thereof at the time of my arrival…" James nodded, hoping there would be more time in the future to discuss these things.
"You really ought to rest up. Albus will be coming back soon enough and he's going to have a lot of questions and explanations. I believe he has ties with the President of Magic…" Lily twisted a strand of hair around her finger thoughtfully.
"How dreadfully rude of us though. Reya would you like a bed? Our son is attending Hogwarts currently, and we've made his room in to a type of guest room. Tonks usually sleeps there on full-" He cut off quickly looking at Remus with wide eyes, who was watching him with a set jaw. "On full work nights. She comes to get a break from it all."
Tonks shot him a raised eyebrow look daring to say "you're a nasty liar James Potter" but he did his best to ignore it.
"So about that guest room?" Lily asked, standing to her feet and gesturing Reya forward.
" I really don't want to impose I can just-"
"Please," Lily cast her an earnest and kind look, the type of look intended to melt even the steeliest 'I-won't-impose' resolve. "Let this be your home for right now." Reya glanced back to Remus who shot her an exhausted, yet still encouraging smile, waving her forward.
"We'll all still be here. They know everything, Reya. They are with us in everything." Tonks locked eyes with the younger woman, watching her with an unreadable look, nodding in motivation as she moved toward the bedroom.
"Thank you." She whispered as she stood before the door.
"Of course." Lily said, making sure not to shut the door if Reya wanted it open. "We'll all be right in here. Probably asleep, because we very rarely sleep on full moon nights either. But we'll be there. If you need anything just come out and grab us. Anything, alright?" Reya nodded, a smile playing at her lips.
She left the door open and Lily watched as she walked in and tentatively pulled the covers back on the bed. Rems smiled, letting his eyes close as he hoped she would do soon.
"She may forget what it feels like to have a bed. It's only been a few months for her, but it's still hard. Sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor. A bed, even a couch… a beautiful woman's shoulder-"
Tonks lightly tapped his arm, scoffing. "You must be tired, you're talking nonsense." He shook his head against her shoulder smiling with James.
James glanced to Lily and in sync the pair stood up and pushed toward the kitchen. "We'll be back in a moment with a pot of tea." Lily called softly over her shoulder, pushing James around the corner and out of sight. Remus wrapped his arms around Dora when they were gone, burying his face into her neck and breathing in her scent.
"I'm so sorry Dora." He whispered into her hair shaking his head against her. With a heavy breath he lifted her from the couch and sat her on his lap, staring into her eyes.
"He never even told me he was there." She whispered, looking down into her hands which were clenched tightly in his own. "I felt like I was lying to him every time I acted like I didn't know. They only thing that stopped me from saying anything was that I knew how upset it would make him, that he was trying to protect me." Remus nodded along with her words, unsure of what to say.
She shook her head, leaning forward and resting against his chest. "I thought of you everyday." He whispered to her. "Every minute, I thought of you of how this was for you, and how I wanted to make sure you would be safe. And I just wonder if I had spent a little more time thinking about-"
"Remus." Her voice cracked as she cut him off. "I want you to tell me everything you desire to tell me. But I don't want you hating yourself because Greyback lives for murder." His hands tightened around her own before he groaned and settled to enveloping her in him completely.
"I'm safe. We're safe. Reya is safe." She whispered, ignoring the tears that fell from her eyes and his. He gripped her so tightly she was nearly sure oxygen was going to stop flowing, but she knew he needed it, so she stayed.
She stayed until the soft footsteps fell from the kitchen and the subtle scent of Lily's perfume filled the room again. Remus pulled away from her and settled to sitting closer to her than normal. James was levitating teacups to the side, lowering them carefully to the table with a sad smile at the pair.
"Maybe we should all turn in for the night.. I think the pulling of the all-nighters is weighing on all of us."
"Why do you guys stay up on the full-moons all night?" Remus looked more alert than he did seconds before glancing to Tonks.
"The pensieve." She said softly, and the following smile that split his face caused her heart to skip beats.
"I nearly forgot about that." He said, shaking his head with his unkempt hair catching in the uncommon scruff that covered his face.
"I didn't." Tonks responded with an equally pained, yet joyful smile. "They were wonderful." She added, lifting the teacup to her lips and taking a steady sip with a sigh of contentment. "They probably kept me going for the whole time you were gone." She added, her voice then holding a more somber tone that James grabbed on to.
"We're all together again, and Harry will be home soon, and things have to get better from here." He was hoping a more encouraging pep talk would come out, but he realized as he started speaking his usual optimism was depleted and he was left hoping someone else would pick up his slack.
"We're all together again," Tonks echoed, tucking a strand of still brown hair behind her ear. "So nothing bad can happen, right? We lasted this long apart, on missions, in danger, but we know we're stronger when we're all here together." James smiled at her, wrapping his arm around Lily's wasit.
"One day we're going to live in a world where muggle-borns don't have to worry about blood-status." He whispered.
"Where werewolves can work anywhere, freely, as humans and equals." Tonks added.
"Where safety is not a luxury, but the norm." Remus said, looking up at his friends.
"And where kids get to be kids without having to grow up before their time and fight in a war they didn't ask for." Lily finished.
"Shit, you guys are the best friends." Tonks said, laying her head back on Remus's chest. "To think there was a world where-"
"Dora stop talking." Remus whispered in her ear, not failing to catch the blush that crept its way up her cheeks at the feeling of his breath on her neck.
With a wink in their direction and a laugh that was probably out of place given their present life circumstances James grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her down the hall.
"To the bedroom!" He called to his friends over his shoulder. Remus looked at her shyly for a moment as if unsure whether she would really want to be with him again. She stood quietly taking his hand in hers and pulling him down the hall.
"It's been a while since I've slept in here." She commented as she pushed the door open and pulled him in behind her. He felt her heart fluttering in his head, he just knew she was eager to be close to him again. He wanted it too, he actually couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to take her shirt off her and...no.
"Dora it's still so close to the moon being passed, you know physical things close to the moon are-"
"But do you want to-"
"You can't talk that close to my face when I'm-"
"Would you mind if I-"
"Taking off your shirt is not going to get me to-"
"What about taking off your shirt, I think that would-"
"Dora, please, don't-"
"Come over here and kiss me you ass-"
"You are very persistent and I don't want to take-"
"If we're being honest here I'm the one taking advantage of-"
"Shit, just kiss me."
It didn't take a lot for her to comply.
Hours later the fireplace roared to life, and the lone man awake in the house didn't even flinch when his two mentors stepped out.
"Everyone else is asleep." He informed the two white haired men who both stepped in and set themselves comfortably upon the couch.
"How is Remus holding up?" Albus asked James, who merely shook his head.
"He went to bed almost immediately after you left, and he's been asleep since then. The girl he brought, Reya, she's an-"
"American journalist." Alastor finished for him. James nodded up at him, not bothering to ask how he obtained that information. The answer didn't really matter to him anyway.
"Is she still sleeping?" Albus asked, trailing his eyes around the room without great purpose.
"I believe so. When I woke up everyone else was still resting and I haven't heard a sound since you two arrived." As if to spite him the door down the hall creaked slightly, and a groggy browned haired Tonks stumbled into the living room. She glanced to Albus and Moody before turning on her heel and tripping into the kitchen with a bang as her shoulder hit the wall. James looked up at the two older men next to him before he heard the door creak again.
"Dora?" Remus's voice was hoarse, and James knew that if he was aware of who was sitting in their living room he likely wouldn't be speaking. "Tonks…" His voice held a resigned sigh that time. In an effort to alleviate the proceeding discomfort James stood up and walked to grab his friend, noticing as he went by that Tonks was merely sitting at the kitchen table, head propped in her hands, waiting for something.
"Kitchen, mate." James called to Remus, wondering what happened in the bedroom and if there was a silencing charm over the door. "Albus and Mad-Eye are here when you're ready to come talk with them." Remus glanced toward the living room. "Go take care of her first." James advised, not even letting Lupin consider leaving Tonks for the sake of their mentors on the couch.
Remus walked into the kitchen slowly, looking at the woman at the table. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and kissed the top of her head. "You need sleep." He whispered to her, feeling a tear fall on to his hand.
"You didn't have to come out here. It's okay. Bad dreams are a part of… war I guess." Remus shook his head, thankful she couldn't see him. She rubbed her hands over her face and pushed from the chair, turning to face him.
"You were… talking." She whispered. "What were you dreaming about?" His face pinched together in confusion as he took in a long steady breath.
"I don't remember." He shook his head, looking around the room before locking his eyes on to hers. "Was the crying out… was that me?" She put her hand on his cheek and nodded her head.
"I think it was both of us." She whispered, dropping her hand and brushing it through her hair. "I didn't mean to run out." She said, an uncomfortable chuckle falling from her lips. "It just made sense." She laughed again, because it didn't make sense. He joined her for a moment.
"Did you see Albus and Alastor in our living room? Because they probably think that I-"
Her boisterous laugh cut him off. "I did!" She took in a deep breath, shaking her head still laughing to herself. "I bet Mad-Eye is going to march in here soon and try to take you out." Her face grew serious so quickly it was his turn to laugh.
"Let's go clear the air then." He suggested setting his hand on her arm and leading her out of the room. Dumbledore continued speaking to James even as Remus and Tonks took places on the couches. But he turned to Remus after a long moment and sighed heavily.
"Remus," Tonks felt her muscles tighten at the tone in his voice. Her hands shook slightly but she made no moves to make this clear to anyone else. "We need you to go back and assess the damage. If Greyback attacked his own people then the pack may be less guarded, we may be able to convince more people to join our cause." James glanced to his best friend who was unmoving looking at the headmaster. Tonks eyes were trained on the floor as Remus took air in between his teeth and brought his hands to his face.
"How long?" He asked, resignation in his tone. Only James seemed to notice when Tonks stepped out of the conversation and down the hall into her bedroom. Alastor shook his head slowly glancing to Albus.
"As soon as possible, for no more than one month." James resisted the urge to shout. How many times would they put Remus through this? Did they not see the pain it was causing so many others?
"I'll return tomorrow."
"No." Lily stood in the doorway to the kitchen her face dark. "No, Remus." Her voice was tight, angry, yet also worried.
"Lily, this isn't up for discussion." Remus responded, exhaustion etched on his face in every line and scar. "I'm going back tomorrow. Reya will be sent back home to her parents." He said the last part to Dumbledore, his tone non negotiable. Mad-Eye nodded once, glancing to the room down the hall.
"She needs a minute to calm down." Remus supplied to the old mentor watching James eyes narrow as he let Tonks remain alone in the bedroom hr had hoped they would be in together for every night.
"We'll go back and contact the American authorities," Alastor began, his magical eye shooting to the room where Reya was sleeping, his other eye on Remus. "You explain to her what's happening with her, but don't tell her you're going back, she strikes me as one who would want to join you, and she needs to go home. This isn't her fight anymore." Remus simply nodded, seeming to not even hear what was being said to him.
With a single nod at the trio in the living room Albus and Alastor stepped back into their fireplace and disappeared into green flames. The tense silence settled over the room as Lily's eyes shot toward Tonks' bedroom every few minutes with a deepening sorrow. Remus stood frozen in the same position since he first heard was the headmaster had to say, until James set a steady hand on his shoulder.
"Mate," Remus shook his head pulling away gently.
"You can't talk me out of this James. I have to do this. They don't ask that much of me and I can't let my desires and emotions stop me from-"
"They ask everything from you." Lily whispered, shaking her head. "They ask more from you than they ask of any of us, and you seem to think you deserve it."
"I can do the most and the least all the time Lily. This is the only task that only one person can complete, and it's really one of the only tasks I can complete. I can't be a double agent like Dora or King, I can't mother everyone to safety like you or Molly. I can't protect everyone like Albus tries… But I can go into the colony and try and help those who think there is no other way." He wrung his hands together.
"Yes but Remus-"
"We talk about this every time Lily!" He rarely raised his voice to her, yet every time it happened her heart grew tight and James had to stop himself from grabbing his best friend. "I know what you think." He hissed in a startling whisper compared to his shout. "And I care about what you feel, but it can't matter so much that I just stop doing what I know I'm supposed to do. That would be wrong, and pointless. And if I could just decide not to do it then I don't think we would all be so resigned to the fact that it's happening right now."
He turned his back to his friends for a moment, before they watched his head drop. "I need to go speak to Kingsley." He said abruptly. "If either of the girls come out tell them I'll be back soon and ask them to wait for me, please." Lily glanced over to James with a single eyebrow raise, taking the small shake of his head as a sign to not say anything. Without waiting for their approval he disapparated away, leaving his two best friends unsure of how to help anyone.
"No Remus Lupin you don't get to go and-!" James and Lily were sitting on their couch hearing the largest fight, possibly ever, between Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin. He was speaking to softly they couldn't even hear him through her shouting, but they knew it would be best to pretend like they had put up a silencing charm over the kitchen and couldn't hear, even though they wanted to know exactly what was happening so they knew how to help Tonks when Remus finally left.
There was a crash as someone pounded the table and James jumped up before Remus shouted, "God Dora! Let me heal your hand. You can't hit things like-"
"I don't want your help." Her voice was a mumble, but strong.
"Your bleeding"
"Not like I haven't had worse before I can-"
"Let me fix it."
"Oh so now you want to make something right? Great I-"
"Please, Dora, don't be like-"
"Like what Remus? Hurt that you are so quick to leave me? Nervous because my best friend was murdered? Terrified because you could die too? Tell me how you don't want me to be I don't want to make anything-"
"We knew the risks when we got together during war Nymphadora! We knew-"
"You don't get to call me that! Not now. Because I see it in your eyes and before you go you're going to try and say goodbye and I won't let you-"
"Oh so now I need your permission to-"
"That's not what i was saying! Shit Remus. Listen to me. I-"
"I'm doing this for you! He shouted over her. "Because I want you to be safe, because I don't want to worry about Greyback trying to ki-"
"He's trying to kill me anyway! Don't you think I'd rather be murdered by that bastard with you next to me than with you off in who knows where in the-"
"You are NOT dying Nymphadora. Not if I have anything to say about it." They're voices were louder than ever before and LIly grabbed James's hand despite it all, afraid of what was going to come out of either of their mouths next.
"Well you don't." James felt the venom in her voice and he knew she would regret it later. "You don't have any say in it because you're leaving and if you walk out that door again I don't know if I can-" Tonks gasped as she dropped her sentence, and Lily jumped up at the sound, both Potters standing to their feet and stepping toward the kitchen door.
"If you can what?" Remus whispered, watching as her eyes filled with tears, her hand covering her mouth. He took a step away from her unsure what she was going to say, feeling his anger melt away.
"Just say goodbye if you're going to try and say it." She whispered. "I don't want to pretend in the waiting."
"I didn't mean to string you along, Tonks. I thought we could make it work. But clearly I'm hurting you more by being with you." His voice cracked as he spoke. James looked at Lily whose face was a mask of anger, unquellable and dangerous.
"Don't you try and make this about chivalry." Tonks tears ceased as she laughed, a merciless laugh that James had never heard from her before. Lily's face changed at the sound, her heart tightened.
"I'm doing this because-"
"Fuck your reasons, Remus. You're doing this because you don't want to hurt yourself, or, maybe worse, because you do want to hurt yourself. I haven't exactly figured that one out yet. But don't try and make this about me."
"Tonks," He fought everything in him not to call her Nymphadora, but he couldn't watcher her eyes soften when he said the name only he could call her, "I'm sorry." He whispered, not looking up to her eyes which were angrier than he had ever seen them before.
"Yeah." Her facade cracked, fury giving way to grief. "Me too." James pulled Lily back as the swinging kitchen door was shoved open and Tonks stormed out, not even looking their way as she disapparated on the spot. Remus stepped out of the kitchen slowly looking to his two best friends, who were watching him, wide eyed.
"Please don't say anything." He said, as he walked down the hall into his bedroom where all he could think about was Tonks not sitting on the bed waiting for him with open arms, ready to accept his immediate apology.