Nymphadora Tonks rested peacefully on her back, the rich golden sun descending gradually into unseen territory. Vaguely, she pondered how often she had shared a serene moment like this one with her former fiancé, Remus Lupin.

Immediately, the inner shields of her mind shot up, trying to prevent the Nile-sized river of memories from flowing forwards. If she didn’t, Tonks was sure she would end up with tears in her eyes.

Instead she focused on the sunset. The calm, peaceful sunset. With her mind wandering to aimless musings, Tonks didn’t recognize the fluffy clouds settling in above her.

Silver rays of glimmering sunshine danced from the small gaps between the clouds, the scene forcing forward the recollection of memories from her former cloud watching days with her mum, Andromeda Tonks. The mother and daughter had often sat in the field behind their house and formed pictures from the slow moving clouds. This was one of those moments that the older Tonks liked to refer to as ‘A naive and innocent chance to bond with my mum. I hadn’t a clue what I got myself into at the time.’

With the same innocent and naive nature she once had, Tonks began tracing the shapeless bundles into pictures.

Within moments, an expansion of fluffy whiteness that spread across the sky’s entirety had been transformed into a fallen rubbish bin, transporting Tonks to that memorable day.

!~!~!~!~!~!

“Quiet!” hushed Sirius Black in a not-so-quiet voice himself.

Tonks looked up sheepishly from her fallen position next to the knocked over rubbish bins. “I tripped?” she stated almost questioningly as a small laugh escaped her.

Sirius shook his head slightly; laughter playing in his eyes, though Tonks couldn’t see the mischievous glint because of their darkened surroundings.

“I thought Aurors were supposed to be stealthy,” mused Sirius. Tonks didn’t even dignify the statement with a reply. Not that she could manage a decent one.

“Are we almost there?” she questioned making sure her voice was soft. It seemed as if they had been walking around in circles for hours.

“Yeah, it’s right up there,” he returned, pointing towards a battered house.

“But we’ve already passed that house,” responded Tonks, careful to keep herself from yelling at her first cousin, once removed. If he wasn't careful, eventually he really would be removed.

Sirius shrugged. “There’s no need to rush. That bloody house is only a step up from Azkaban, anyway.”

Tonks groaned sourly as they entered Grimmauld Place with Sirius announcing their presence.

“You were starting to get us worried,” spoke a man in worn robes as he appeared from a connected room. “It was, after all, only a walk -literally- up the street and back. And, you’ve been gone at least an hour.”

“The git decided to give me a tour of the neighbourhood a few hundred times,” spoke Tonks.

In the faint light of the hallway, Sirius’ smirk could be made out by the pair.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist over nothing,” commented Sirius airily. “Remus, this is my cousin Nymphadora. Nymphadora, this is my best mate Remus.”

Tonks groaned again, which now seemed to be a custom thing to do around Sirius. “If you call me Nymphadora one more time, I’ll hex you into oblivion,” she threatened through a death glare. “I’m Tonks,” she added, extending her hands towards Remus.

!~!~!~!~!~!

Her eyes closed briefly. Tonks mentally pictured him in his tattered wizard robes. The robes she had constantly mocked him for keeping for all those years. The robes that she loved to playfully wager were older than her. She had always voiced that he didn’t need to wear dishevelled robes when they had plenty of money between the two of them. Yet, the robes escaped all of her raids on his closet. Eventually, she guessed that he wore them only to taunt her.

It was their joke. Their own inside joke that only the two of them shared. On multiple occasions Remus would mention how he planned on wearing those same old robes on his wedding day. To this, Tonks would return with a carefully posed, ‘I s’pose you’re going to have to find a different bride then.’

With a content sigh, the Auror basked in the memory. Fondly, Tonks recalled the many awkward moments the destined duo had shared before Remus had come to understand that she would accept him for who he was.

A transformed wolf’s head spread across the sky, reminding her rapidly of her lost love’s worrisome curse.

!~!~!~!~!~!

"Can we talk about this in private?” questioned Remus, losing confidence quickly as Molly and Arthur Weasley stood up for Tonks’ opinion. Vaguely, Tonks was aware of him taking it all in and considering his options, yet that small voice in his head still controlled his emotions.

Tonks nodded. She was more at ease when surrounded by her fellow Order members and knew that Remus would most likely bend more that way, but she wasn’t about to deny him his wishes. She’d get to him one way or another.

“Any other time, maybe- just maybe -this might work, but not now. Dumbledore’s dead and the world is about to be blown full circuit. To top that off, I’m a bloody werewolf! You would be in an even more hostile situation if you were with me.”

Tonks laced her fingers through her mousy brown hair. “Protection is overrated,” she mumbled quietly to herself.

Remus heaved a heavy sigh. “What am I suppose to say, Tonks?” he questioned softly.

“How about, ‘Yes, Tonks. You’re right, always were right and always will be right?”

“This really isn’t the time to be discussing this,” replied Remus.

“Well, I’m free tomorrow ‘round twelve o’clock. We could always continue this at the Three Broomsticks...?”

In defeat, Remus nodded, accepting the terms.

“It’s a date.”

!~!~!~!~!~!

Tears of happiness first began to well in Tonks’ eyes.

How the pair had shared such chemistry together. Despite the age gap, they both were aware of how the other completed the opposite. Like connecting magnets, drawn to each other by an unmentioned force.

Tonks would never degrade the feeling as lust or even love at first sight, as blissful as it was. It was a mutual feeling of appreciation between the pair. A fond feeling for the other that could never be explained. How they both knew exactly how to pick at the other’s nerves and when their companion simply needed someone to keep them company.

Just as she had feared, the skull shaped itself into the cloudy sky. Swivelling first through the empty eye socket and then through the mouth, a slithering serpent made its frightening appearance. It truly was the image of death.

!~!~!~!~!~!

"Stupefy!” shouted Tonks with a feverish glint in her eye. The Death Eater she was duelling easily deflected the curse, before attempting to expel her wand from her.

Distracted, Tonks’ wand was pulled from her grasp, leaving her defenceless. The Auror first attempted to flee, yet the Death Eater’s wand was at the ready first.

The Death Eater towered over Tonks, a wide grin spreading across his profile. Both duellists knew the following curse, leaving Tonks with the only option of accepting her fate. Without a cringe or a look of remorse from Tonks, the Death Eater raised his wand without hesitation.

“Avada Kedavra!” echoed in Tonks’ ears as she stood like a deer in headlights, not moving.

Suddenly, she was tackled to the ground, leaving the person who spared her life to lose their own.

She whimpered as she grabbed her wand from the ground, finally succeeding in petrifying and binding the Death Eater. Only then, with a dreaded feeling did she spare her rescuer a glance. Somewhere within her, Tonks knew who it was as soon as the person’s body had made contact.

Gently, she closed Remus’ eyelids.

Protection is overrated.

!~!~!~!~!~!

Tears fell swiftly from Tonks’ eyes. Her breath suddenly became rugged with her wheezing gasps, soon to be muffled by the smell of her freshly washed shirt as she curled into the fetal position.

It was unfair. It was simply unfair how cruel life was. She knew it was unnecessary to mourn for such a period as her emotions insisted she did, but Tonks couldn’t control that factor. She was sure it would remain with her until she died.

The world hadn’t even hesitated on that infamous day. The sun unbelievably rose the following morning, and the moon followed suit that night. Neither the heavens nor the earth showed any pity, but what had she expected?

Her tears continued to fall swiftly, her absent minded prayers screaming internally. If only the fading world around her might show her a sign, a moment of pity for her lost love. A comforting glimpse on the horizons, or perhaps a message of reassurance.

Tonks stayed rested in the field, knowing what used to be the Order would soon come looking for her. But her selfishness was all that mattered at the moment, and exhaustion was winning the battle with herself.

As her eyes began to close firmly for a long rest amongst the swaying grass, Tonks continued to hope for a sign. A sign that someone was looking out for her. An angel of sorts.

As she dozed, Tonks could have sworn she felt a brief storm fall from the sky, reassuring her that someone out there felt her pain.