“Where are you going?” Kris demanded.
“I’ve already told you that it’s none of your concern,” I replied sternly.
“Moony, it’s a full moon, you can’t go anywhere! What if you don’t get back in time?” she asked.
I paused a moment. “That’s a risk I have to take.”
“It’s for her, isn’t it? You can’t put her in that kind of danger!” Kris said, on the verge of shouting.
“Kris, I’ll be back before night fall.”
Without another word, I Apparated out, ready to go on my search for the Malfoy Manner.
______________________________________________________________________________
The house elf told the Malfoys something strange was going on. They didn’t know what I was doing, but they obviously didn’t like it. So extra charms were placed on the house. They weren’t taking any chances.
I wished I could make contact with Remus again, but he’d been almost impossible to reach with all the new barriers. I doubted he would come that week; it was a full moon. I thought I had time to try breaking some of the spells for him. He wouldn’t risk coming here on a full moon.
______________________________________________________________________________
The place was heavily guarded and it took almost a full day just to plan how I would get in. I barely remember what happened. All I know is I got in undetected and started looking for Tonks.
Shockingly, they had very little means of protection inside the Manner. Cocky.
They had a dungeon, unsurprisingly, but she wasn’t down there. So I started looking in every room I found that I couldn’t hear people in. Finally, after what seemed like countless hours, I walked into a room where I woman with mousy brown hair sat, frowning in concentration, on the bed.
I closed the door quietly. “What’re you trying to do?”
She whipped around, her face ridden with fear.
“It’s alright, it’s just me.”
“R-Remus?” she stuttered. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to save you,” I said, opening my arms for her to hug me.
She almost knocked me over when she ran to hug me. Then she stepped back and smacked me across the face.
“What the bloody hell-” I stammered.
“You didn’t know it was me! How could you... with her... Remus!” She punched my arm.
“Um...” I had an idea what she was talking about, but I was hoping I was wrong. I decided to change the subject. “Listen, we should get going. I need to get you back before night fall.”
But she wasn’t looking at me. She was staring, horrified, over my shoulder.
“What’s this?” a sharp woman’s voice asked.
I turned slowly to face Narcissa Malfoy. I blew it! All my careful planing gone to waste...
______________________________________________________________________________
She locked us in a cell. A cold, damp, dark cell.
Remus was cursing softly.
“What?” I asked, moving closer to him.
“It’s a full moon tonight...” he breathed.
“Didn’t you take a potion?” I gaped at him.
“We don’t take them down there. Besides, I thought I’d be in and out before nightfall.”
We were trapped and in a few short hours, Remus would transform.
“I’m sorry, Tonks.”
“For what?” I looked at him sharply. “It’s not your fault, and don’t you dare blame yourself.”
He was sobbing silently. I knew exactly why, but I refused to think about that.
“Remus, we’ll be fine... I can...” I was always bad at morphing into animals, and I wasn’t sure what effects it would have on the baby. “I could try morphing into an animal, then you would leave me be...”
“I can’t be sure of that, if I get hungry or something...”
I shook my head, not able to think about it. “Remus, we can figure this out...”
“Try. Just to make sure.”
I concentrated on changing my form, but absolutely nothing happened...
“Tonks...” his voice was mournful.
“No, don’t,” I said severely. “I’ll get it. Don’t worry.”
We sat in silence for what seemed like hours while I tried to morph. Nothing happened at all. It was so frustrating! Each time I failed, I could tell Remus buried himself in more grief and misery.
Eventually, he started shaking.
“R-Remus?” I stammered.
His reply was a low growl. He was transforming!
______________________________________________________________________________
I woke up in a hospital room. I couldn’t remember a thing. How I’d gotten there, why I was there, what had happened before I blacked out.
I turned my head to look around, and my body screamed in pain. Everything hurt. Panic filled me. The baby! Was the baby okay?
Molly walked in and beamed when she saw I was awake. “Tonks! Thank goodness!”
“What-” I began, but even my throat hurt too much to talk.
“Remus transformed while you were too close...” she told me slowly.
It all came flooding back to me then. In Malfoy Manner, the dark cell, Remus changing... I was instantly filled with pity for him, I knew he must be feeling horrible. Then, a fresh wave of panic attacked. Was he going to feel so bad that he felt it would be better to leave me?
“Is...” I tried to speak.
“The baby is miraculously fine! The healers can’t explain it!” Molly explained excitedly.
“Remus?” I asked.
Her face fell. “He’s back at the Burrow. He’s been very depressed since... well...”
“How long?” I wondered aloud.
“It happened a week ago. He’s been afraid to come see you. He won’t even let me tell him the news that the baby’s fine.”
“I want to see him.”
______________________________________________________________________________
“Remus?” Molly came into the room, concern written all over her face.
I didn’t answer.
“Tonks is awake. And the healers say that the baby is perfectly alright. Nothing happened to it,” she said quickly, as if she was afraid I would interrupt her at any second.
“That’s good,” I said quietly.
“She wants to see you.”
I froze. I couldn’t face Tonks. Not after what I’d done to her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she asked for a divorce right there in the hospital.
“She needs to see you, Remus,” Molly told me sternly.
I sighed, stood up, thanked Molly for the news and Apparated to the hospital.
I walked in, and if she hadn’t been the only one in the room, I wouldn’t have recognized her. Three gashes ran diagonal across her face, her arms were bruised and scarred, and her hair was definitely not it’s normal pink. But she still smiled when she noticed I was in the room.
“Hi,” she greeted me weakly.
“Hi...” I replied quietly.
I was afraid to look any closer at her wounds... in the mad whirl of it all, I couldn’t remember if I bit her or not...