Sitting in the sitting room of her mother’s house, Nymphadora Lupin, known as Tonks, held her month old son, Teddy, in her lap as she sat next to her husband of less than a year, Remus Lupin. As they fondly watched Teddy change his hair from green to blue to blond, Remus looked at Tonks seriously. “Dora, I wanted to tell you… Bill said Harry left Shell Cottage yesterday morning with Hermione, Ron, and the goblin Griphook. They went to Gringotts, and they broke into Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault,” Remus said, biting his lip. Tonks had agreed with him that they would name Harry as Teddy’s godfather, but he still couldn’t help but wonder if Harry’s reckless move would make her rethink her decision.
“Remus, I know what you’re thinking. I know that Harry probably had a reason for doing so,” Tonks said calmly to her husband, kissing him gently. “Harry will be a wonderful godfather to Teddy once he defeats You-Know-Who.” Remus nodded.
“I feel like I should be helping him or something. James and Sirius have both died, now I’m the closest thing to a father Harry’s got. But he told me I should stay with you and Teddy,” Remus said, feeling ashamed as he remembered how he had tried to leave Tonks alone. Tonks shook her head.
“Remus, we’ve gone over this. I’m not upset about you leaving. You came back, and that’s what’s important,” Tonks said, slowly mulling over her words. Remus nodded, still feeling guilty. As his eyes fell on his son again, his prematurely lined face seemed made ten years younger by his bright smile. Teddy had turned his hair the same shocking pink as his mother favoured.
“Look, the two most important people in my life have the exact same hair colour,” Remus said. Tonks smiled and kissed her husband again. Suddenly a large white vapour burst into the room and solidified into a hyena.
“Harry’s back! He’s back at Hogwarts! We’re going to fight!” the excited voice of Fred Weasley said. Remus looked anxiously at Tonks.
“Are we fighting?” he asked her, taking her hand. Tonks bit her lip when Andromeda, her mother, walked into the room.
“You can’t be thinking of fighting, can you?” she said angrily.
“I’ve already lost a husband, and now I might lose a daughter!” Tonks looked at Remus awkwardly. She made a decision.
“I’m staying here with Teddy, Mum. I’m not going to leave him,” Tonks said calmly. Andromeda nodded.
“Are you fighting, Remus?” she asked, slightly cool towards him. She hadn’t approved of her daughter marrying a werewolf because of her pureblood upbringing, but she was trying to improve her own attitude for her daughter’s sake.
“Yes, Andromeda. I must do it for Harry,” Remus said, running a hand through his hair, looking like he had aged twenty years in two minutes. Andromeda nodded stiffly and left the room. “She doesn’t think I should leave, does she?”
“No, she doesn’t, but part of it is because she’s still upset about Dad.” Tonks sighed. “Remus, you have to go fight. You won’t be happy if you don’t go.” Remus sighed deeply.
“But, Dora, what if something happens?” Remus asked her, looking quite torn. Tonks set Teddy down in his seat and took the front of her husband’s robes.
“Then I’ll tell Teddy what his father died for,” Tonks said determinedly. Remus gazed into his wife’s brown eyes before kissing her passionately, hungrily. Tonks responded in kind, wrapping her arms tightly around Remus as she pressed herself against him, realizing this could be the last time she ever saw him. “Remus,” she whispered against his lips, kissing him fiercely. Remus’s hands roamed across her body, fingering the hem of her shirt, but Tonks pulled back, lips swollen from snogging. “You have to get to Hogwarts,” she said, resigning herself to the facts of the matter. Remus nodded, straightening his robes. He walked over to where Teddy sat and knelt down so he was level with his son.
“Teddy, no matter what might happen tonight, I want you to know that I love you, Teddy. You’re going to grow up to be wonderful, funny, and brave. I love you, Teddy Remus Lupin,” Remus said to his son. He knew that Teddy had no idea what he was saying, but he also knew that he needed to share these words of reassurance with his young son. Remus stood and turned to his young, fresh wife. “Dora, I love you,” he said simply, wishing he had more to say, but Tonks understood.
“I love you too, Remus,” she replied, pulling him close for one last passionate kiss. Once they pulled apart, Remus walked out to the front step of the house, looking longingly back at his wife as she held their son on her hip. He gave them one last smile before Apparating away into the Hog’s Head.
As Remus led a group of fighters out to guard the grounds of Hogwarts, he thought of his beautiful pink-haired wife. With her jeans and Weird Sisters t-shirts, not to mention her punk rock spiked pink hair, she wasn’t exactly considered impeccably beautiful by a lot of people’s standards, but to Remus she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was funny, she was sweet, she was unpredictable, and, most of all, she was different from the others. Not only did she accept him, she was so persistent that he had even started to accept himself.
Remus started fighting, wishing already that he hadn’t left her. But he knew that it was the right choice. But he couldn’t help but feel like he was being a bad father and husband again, just like he had been so many times before.
Tonks sat in her sitting room, restlessly fidgeting and sighing. Finally, Andromeda glared at her daughter. “Well, are you going to go or aren’t you?” Tonks looked at her mother in surprise.
“What d’you mean? I thought you wanted me to stay,” Tonks said, nervous. Andromeda shook her head.
“I did want you to stay, but you can’t. You need to find Remus,” Andromeda said, sighing. “I can’t keep”” Tonks had already leapt up and ran to her mother. She kissed her on the cheek.
“I love you, Mum. Take care of Teddy if anything happens to us; Harry’s his godfather, so if he’s okay after it ends I’m sure he’d like a say,” Tonks said before she walked to her son’s seat and knelt in front of him, taking one of his pudgy hands in her own. “Teddy, I love you. I want you to always know and remember that.” Tonks stood up again and walked out to Apparate after her husband.
When Tonks reached Hogwarts after taking the passage with Frank Longbottom’s mother, she was surprised to see Ginny Weasley sitting forlornly in the Room of Requirement. “I thought you’d be fighting, Ginny,” Tonks said quickly, forgetting her own desperation for a moment. Ginny started and looked at Tonks. Her eyes were slightly pink, and Tonks had a feeling she had touched a nerve. She swallowed. “But of course you are underage, so it is only fair.” Ginny nodded, and Tonks suddenly felt her anguish rushing back. “Have you seen Remus?” she said desperately. Ginny bit her lip.
“He was taking a group of fighters somewhere,” Ginny said, but they were interrupted by Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s arrival. Harry was saying something about finding something, so they needed to leave. He seemed reluctant to have Ginny leave, and Tonks smiled to herself. Remus and Harry had the same protective streak. Remus. She needed to find him.
“Aberforth! Have you seen Remus?” Tonks said hurriedly to Dumbledore’s brother. Aberforth, who was nodding approvingly at a jinx Ginny had cast, turned to Tonks.
“He was duelling Dolohov! Haven’t seen him since!” Aberforth replied. Tonks raked her hands through her hair the way Remus usually did. He had rubbed off on her. She vaguely heard Ginny’s words of comfort, but she was too overcome by her own anguish. She darted off, dodging both friend and foe as one thought rushed through her mind: get to Remus.
Suddenly, Tonks spotted him across the Great Hall, duelling fiercely with Dolohov still. Remus couldn’t seem to be able to finish him, but Dolohov couldn’t beat Remus. Tonks saw how tightly Remus’s jaw was clenched, and it was obvious that he was fighting his hardest. Tonks bolted across the room, but she was stopped by Bellatrix when she was close to Remus.
“Nymphadora, is my favourite niece really here?” Bellatrix said maniacally. Tonks looked longingly at Remus, who had cast a powerful Shield Charm as he whipped his head around to face her.
“Dora! What are you...” Remus trailed off as he remembered where they were. He decided not to ask questions, instead choosing to swallow. “I love you, Nymphadora Lupin,” he said tenderly and seriously before turning back to Dolohov.
“I love you too, Remus John Lupin!” Tonks yelled at him as she began her duel with Bellatrix. Remus responded with the brightest smile Tonks had ever seen on his face. She kept an eye on him as she duelled Bellatrix. Suddenly, as if it were slow motion, she saw a jet of green light hit Remus square in the chest. Tonks let out an anguished moan and ran to his lifeless body, sending a furious Stunning Spell at Dolohov, who toppled over immediately in shock.
Tonks dove atop her husband, shielding him from the bits of dust tumbling from the castle walls as the battle raged on. “Remus, Remus, please, please, please don’t leave me. Oh, Remus, I’m sorry, I should’ve kept you safe, I...” Tonks succumbed to her sobs, loud rasping ones. She didn’t hear Bellatrix’s taunts. She didn’t see the wand pointed at her back. “I love you, Remus,” she whispered, kissing his cheek as she cried.
“Avada Kedavra,” Bellatrix whispered with glee as the jet of green light hit Tonks square in the back, and she slumped onto her husband. “Fool.”
Remus and Nymphadora Lupin stood in a large white room.
“Where are we?” Tonks said to the room at large, taking a cautious step. Remus shrugged. There seemed to be crowds of people on the edges, but none of their faces were clear. Remus took Tonks’s hand and squeezed it tightly. Then he noticed three people walking towards them.
“Some people are coming,” he stated. He recognized the faces and smiled at the sight of his two best friends, not to mention another one of his closest friends.
“Remus!” James Potter exclaimed, running forward. His black hair was as untidy as ever, and he was wearing the blue striped pyjamas he had died in. He enclosed his friend in a tight hug. Lily smiled brightly. She had an emerald dressing gown thrown over a white nightgown and embraced Remus as well.
“It’s good to see you again,” she said pushing a dark red lock of hair behind her ear. Sirius stepped forward.
“Remus, I missed you,” he said. Then he turned to Tonks.
“Tonks, I can’t believe this arsehole tried to ignore for a year!”
“Who is this?” Lily asked politely. Tonks smiled.
“I’m Nymphadora Lupin, but Remus calls me Dora and most people know me by my maiden name, Tonks,” she said, shaking Lily’s hand.
“Of course. Sirius mentioned you, and I knew you got married, but I didn’t want to scare you,” Lily said. James slipped an arm around her waist. Remus and Tonks were still confused. They seemed so natural...
“Where exactly are we?” Remus asked reasonably. Sirius laughed.
“The afterlife! It’s great, Remus, I swear! Dumbledore’s around here somewhere, and your dad is here too, Tonks,” Sirius said, smiling. Tonks looked at Remus contentedly.
“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be,” she said, hair even brighter pink than it had been in real life.
“I can’t either because I’m with you,” Remus replied, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her forehead. He was younger and happier than Tonks had ever seen him. “But we’ve got to””
“Watch Harry. I know he can do it. He can finish him,” Tonks responded, snuggling close to her husband. “I love you, Remus.”
“I love you too, Dora.” Remus leaned his head closer to her ear. “We’ll be together forever now.”
“Forever,” Tonks mumbled happily.
Forever by ginny6142
Story Notes:
This is my first fanfiction, so please review and be nice!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own any of the characters (my dreams don't count). *some pieces of dialogue taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*
Chapter Notes: This is my first fanfiction!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I would be a seasoned writer, not an amateur.
Chapter Endnotes: Thank you so much for reading! If you could leave me some constructive criticism it would be much appreciated, as this is my first fic! Thanks again!