“Alright, where were we? Oh, yeah, when we met.”

It was the next day, and once again, the smallest Lupin’s bedtime was approaching. Dora held him once more. She was settled comfortable on the couch, her legs thrown over those of her husbands’ so that she was on his lap, with young Teddy in her arms. Remus looked rather more tired today, but he managed a smile for his son. The full moon was hardly a week away, and he appeared to be already feeling the effects. Dora took Remus’ hand in hers and squeezed it gently, then began the story where they had left off the night before.

“Teddy, remember that werewolf that Tonks had tripped over? Remus? Well, he was the nicest guy Tonks had ever met. He was quiet, but very smart and very considerate. He was the most gentlemanly man she had ever known. He never made her feel stupid, even when she was wrong, and always treated her with respect. That wasn’t something she could say for several of the men she had been around in the past.

“When Tonks first met him she was a bit worried about his disease. She’d been brought up to believe that all werewolves were evil, bought off by You-Know-Who. But soon she realized that she was judging him for a part of him that he couldn’t change, just like so many people had judged her Metamorphosing. She felt terrible. He had never judged her for her clumsiness or her hair color, and there she was judging him for something that affected him one night a month, something in which he had no say.

“Tonks and Remus were soon very good friends. They worked well together, so they were sent on a lot of missions for the Order together, and then, when Harry Potter, Remus’ old friend’s son- and the famous Boy Who Lived to the rest of us- needed a guard to get to headquarters, they were the first two to sign up.

“Soon Tonks realized, she liked Remus more than any man she’d ever known. She could rely on him for anything. He listened to her, and then remembered and brought up, weeks later, the things she said. He was honest, a good person, and he was sweet and rather handsome to boot.”

Dora glanced at her husband. He didn’t meet her eye, but his cheeks were slightly flushed and there was a small smile playing on his mouth. Dora grinned happily and went on with her story.

“Tonks tried not to think much about her growing feelings for Remus though. She thought they would only get in the way of her work, and anyway, he’d never so much as glanced at her in a way that suggested he felt the same. But one night they were on assignment together. They were tracking a lone Death Eater. He was walking down the sidewalk in a dirty neighborhood in London, and he didn’t seem to have noticed them, but then he turned and hurried down an alley. They were worried he would get away, so they ran into the alley after him, and suddenly they were surrounded! It was a trap! An ambush! There were probably seven or eight Death Eaters, all stepping out from behind trash cans and jumping off of garage roofs, their wands out and death in their faces. There was no way Tonks and Remus could get away without a fight!”

Dora’s eyes lit up, and she waved her hands animatedly as she described the scene. Remus watched her with an amused smile.

“The lead Death Eater asked if they would surrender. Remus whipped out his wand and Tonks spat on the ground. Remus’ voice was almost dangerous when he spoke. He said-“

“Never,” Remus growled, trying hard not to grin as he reenacted the moment for his son. Dora giggled and continued.

“Tonks and Remus were dodging curses left and right, firing spells back as fast as they came, but they were outnumbered eight to two. Tonks managed to stun one of the Death Eaters, and Remus disarmed another, but they were getting tired. They couldn’t hold out much longer. Then, to cap it all, Tonks somehow managed to trip over her own feet and fall face-first into the alley wall.”

Dora shook her head, embarrassed.

“She blacked out for a moment and when she came to, there was Remus- the brave man- standing over her, holding off all seven remaining Death Eaters by himself! The one he had disarmed had found his wand. The Death Eaters were hurling spells at him, and Tonks watched as he missed death by an inch.”

Dora shuddered, and Remus’ arm tightened around her. She turned to smile up into his face, and continued.

“Just then, as she saw how close he had come to dying, and in defense of her, she realized just how much that werewolf, that gentleman, meant to her. He could have Apparated away, left her to die and saved his own life, but he had stayed, he was risking his life for her. She knew that, though she had somehow managed it before they had met, she could no longer survive without Remus Lupin. Tonks jumped to her feet, surprising the Death Eaters and giving her the advantage. She managed to stun two more of them before they could react, Remus stunned a third, and hexed a fourth, and then Tonks was dueling one Death Eater and Remus was dueling two.

“Tonks sent spell after spell at her opponent, a pudgy little woman with an ugly face, but she just couldn’t keep her mind on the fight. She could hear Remus and the other Death Eaters fight nearby, and she was nearly worried out of her mind that he would be hurt.

“Then there was a yell from one of Remus’ opponents and the one Tonks was fighting was distracted. Tonks blasted her backwards into a wall and ran to make sure Remus was alright.

“When she got there he was just sending a stunning spell at his second opponent- the yell had come when he’d hit the first one with a jinx. His stunner hit the man in the stomach and sent him sprawling. But by now the first few Death Eaters they had stunned were waking up- Tonks could hear them yelling in the alleyway behind her. Remus looked around at the sound and saw her standing there. He yelled something and burst into a run towards Tonks. He rammed into her, almost knocked her on her back. A half second later a killing spell shot through the air where she had just been standing! Remus grabbed her hand, then, whirling, sent a curse in the Death Eaters’ direction and Apparated them away.

“They appeared in a nicer part of Muggle London, near a pub. Remus led Tonks inside, still holding her hand. They walked over to a table in the corner and Remus let go of Tonks’ hand to pull out her chair. Tonks sat down and then Remus sat down across from her. Tonks’ mind seemed to be moving very slowly. All she could think was Remus saved my life twice. He almost died. He saved my life. She was staring at her hands, but she wasn’t really seeing them, she didn’t notice they were shaking until Remus reached out and took hold of one of them again.

“Tonks looked up at Remus. He looked calm, as he always did, but his eyes were wary. He asked if she was alright. Tonks looked at him and realized that as long as he was nearby… she was alright.”

“So, when I say romantic things it’s hogwash, but when you go romantic it’s alright?” Remus interrupted, laughing. Dora grimaced and stuck her tongue out at him, then turned away and crossed her arms, pouting. But then he laughed again, more softly this time and, taking her chin in between his thumb and forefinger, turned her face towards him again. His expression was bemused.

“Dora, you are adorable.”

Dora sniffed, and tried to turn her head away again but her chin was still firmly clamped in Remus’ fingers. Remus’ face became very serious though his eyes were still smiling.

“Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, I love you. I’m sorry if I offended you. Will you forgive me?”

Dora glared at him for another moment then burst out laughing. Remus looked relieved.

“Of course I forgive you. There is nothing to forgive! I was just joking. Will you forgive me, love?”

Remus nodded gravely then flashed a grin, leaned forward and brushed a kiss on his wife’s nose. She blushed and Remus took advantage of her silence.

“Now it is my turn,” he said, and lifted a fidgeting Teddy off his mother’s lap where he had lain, momentarily forgotten.

“Alright, little man. Where did I stop? Oh yes, when Remus met Tonks.

“Remus thought the little girl Auror was a bit silly and very sweet. Like your Mum said, they went on plenty of missions together for the Order, but they also sat through some of the longest meetings together as well. There was one meeting in particular that took place long before the Death Eater incident your mum was just talking about, where Snape, a boring and annoying old school mate who turned out to be a spy for You-Know-Who and, ah…well, that’s another story…

“Anyway, Snape was giving the longest, dullest report you could possibly imagine. Even Remus was having a hard time concentrating. He looked around, and the only people still paying Snape their full attention were Dumbledore, the most brilliant man ever to live and Hogwarts headmaster at the time; Minerva McGonagall, the highly intelligent Transfiguration teacher and deputy head; and Tonks, the little-girl Auror who had stumbled over Remus’ feet when they first met.

“Remus was impressed. A new respect for Tonks came over him. He had come to know that she was a charming, funny and kind young woman, but he had not guessed at the depths of her intelligence. He began to pay more attention to the things she said and did, and found, to his-“

Remus glanced at Dora, a sheepish look passing over his tired face. When next he spoke he sounded apologetic.

“…found to his surprise, that her comments were more insightful and her thoughts more interesting than he had before imagined the charming little-girl Auror capable.”

Dora rolled her eyes.

“It was the hair, wasn’t it,” she said dryly. Remus looked surprised.

“No actually, it was the expression on your face that misguided me. So open and accepting… childlike.”

Remus, looking down at his son, missed the smile those words inspired on his wife’s lips. There was silence for another moment than Dora elbowed Remus in the ribs.

“It’s still your turn. Keep going.”

“Oh, yes. Well, soon, Remus couldn’t help wanting to know her opinions on everything. Not a thought entered his mind but he wanted to discuss it with her. But he was very careful. He didn’t want to force her to share her ideas, and he didn’t want to scare her away either. She, however, seemed to enjoy his company, was comfortable near him, and liked having him around. It wasn’t a feeling he had enjoyed very often since he had lost his friends all those many years ago. He felt like he was imposing on her friendship, but he enjoyed her acceptance and her company too much to let her go.

“Then came the night that they were ambushed.”

Remus’ face darkened. His eyes stared into space, seeing once more, perhaps, the menacing shapes on every side. When he spoke again his voice was low and rough.

“As the Death Eaters came out of the shadows, Remus realized several things at once. He realized how easily either of them might die that night. He realized that if Tonks died his life would no longer have meaning. And then he realized that he would do anything to keep her safe.

“So they fought. Remus didn’t allow himself time to think about his realizations until the Death Eaters were defeated and Tonks was safely away from them. Suddenly they were sitting at a table in a pub and Tonks was shaking. Remus wanted so badly to hold her close, tell her that it would be alright, tell her that he would protect her and never let anything ever happen to her. But he didn’t want to frighten her, so he just took her hand and held it tight.

“And then he let himself think.

“Remus was in love…in love with funny, sweet, intelligent Nymphadora Tonks. For most people being in love is a good thing. But Remus was a werewolf and therefore, by definition, hated by wizard-kind. He couldn’t find work. He was poor. He was shunned. And one night a month he was a dangerous monster.”

Remus paused, his face lined with pain. Dora, who had been making faces for Teddy’s entertainment, glanced up at her husband. Her eyes grew concerned as she saw his expression. With a comforting hand, she reached up and pressed her palm to his cheek. Remus leaned into her hand, his eyes half closed for a moment before continuing.

“He had nothing to give her. If they married then she would receive a share of all the unkindness the world had bestowed on him for his condition. She would be hated, poor and shunned. And she would be always in danger… in danger of being hurt by Remus. He couldn’t bear that. And even if he had not been a werewolf, he was still thirteen years older than her. She couldn’t possibly see him as anything but a friend.

“He resolved that he would simply never let her know that he loved her. He would be her friend, her confidant and her protector, but nothing more. He would keep her safe…even from himself.”

There was silence. Dora cleared her throat.

“My turn.”

Remus handed over Teddy without a word. Dora tucked his blanket more firmly around him as she began.

“Where did I leave off? Oh, yeah. Remus was holding Tonks’ hand. Tonks had some serious butterflies flapping around her stomach. In fact it felt more like a flock of owls were swooping around in there. Tonks looked up at Remus and was sure he could tell what she was feeling and he didn’t like it. He looked tired, and unhappy, and a little angry, too. She thought he was gonna tell her off for being in love with him, as if it were some adolescent crush on a handsome teacher. Which wasn’t all that far off, I suppose, huh, Teddy? She’d only been out of Hogwarts a few years when he started teaching there. But anyway, the next thing she knew he was asking here about one of the spells she had used and buying her something to eat.

“Dora decided that she would keep quiet about her feelings. He wouldn’t want to be her friend anymore if he found out! She didn’t want to lose her best friend.”

Teddy yawned. Dora, who was just opening her mouth to continue, stopped mid-word and watched as Teddy blinked sleepily. After another moment he yawned again. Dora sighed.

“Well, it looks like we’ll have to continue tomorrow.”

She slid off the couch, and stood, Teddy in her arms. Remus, who had been staring broodingly at the back of one of his hands, looked up as she continued, “You know, I really thought we’d be done tonight. Seems our story is rather longer than I thought, Remus!”

Remus grunted in agreement and stood up.

“Shall I?” he asked, holding out his arms for Teddy.

“Thanks, love, but I’ve got him. You look like you need sleep just as much as he does. Why don’t you get to bed?”

Remus nodded wearily.

“Alright, but I’m putting him down tomorrow.”

Dora smiled and stepped closer.

“Of course you are, Remus.”

She gave him a quick kiss then turned away, carrying Teddy away to his crib. Once she had tucked him in she kissed his forehead and began, in whispers, the secret tutelage she had declined to reveal to Remus the day before.

Teddy was asleep before the end of her first sentence.