One Last Chance: A Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin Love Story

XXXV

When Dora heard about her parents being tortured by the Death Eaters when they found out Harry Potter was in their home, she nearly left the safety of her home and husband in the middle of the night. The only thing stopping her was Remus' pleading look. They both knew she'd be killed if they left now. She couldn't do that to him, or her parents.

Harry's 17th birthday was less than a week later. And Dora and Remus promised to attend the party Molly was hosting. Her eyes flickered open. They were both tried and had decided to take a nap before going to the Burrow. Remus must've been awake already. Dora groaned and shoved her face into the pillow. Mornings were evil.

She heard her husband's voice come from the kitchen, "You're awake?"
"No!" she shouted, lifting her head for a moment.
"Oh, but I made lunch."

She turned around and sat up. Remus was standing in the doorway, holding a plate of pancakes. He still looked a bit disheveled, as if he woke up only minutes before she did. He also didn't bother change out of his pajamas. The pancakes smelled wonderful. She didn't question the fact that he'd made pancakes—an enjoyable breakfast— for lunch. He sat down next to her.

"Oh, now I feel bad." she said, wiping her eyes, "We won't eat anything at Harry's birthday and you worked so hard to make food." She glanced at the plate, "Is that chocolate syrup? On pancakes? For lunch?"
He looked away sheepishly, "We ran out of maple syrup. And we had nothing else to cook."
"Well, it smells delicious." she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, "Thank you."

He smiled and handed her one of the two forks he held. They giggled like children for just a second, then started to eat. Unlike when she tried to make pancakes, Remus' were warm and fluffy, wonderfully soft and sweet.

"Molly's going to be so upset when we don't eat much." she said, taking another bite.
"Oh well," he grinned, "Maybe there'll be cake."
"Of course there's going to be cake, it's Harry 17th birthday." she glanced at the window, "Gee, how I wish we had time to get him something."

They'd been a bit busy over the week. Dora looking for an uncorrupted job. Visiting her mother. Order meetings in between. And so much more. They didn't even have time for each other any more. But they made it work.

They cleaned up. Each of them decided to take a shower. Remus let her go first. She was thankful for that because she felt like a mess. (For the strangest reason ever, they both liked long showers and it took about an hour and half before she was out of the shower. Remus then took another long hour. Dora had to wait for him because one, he said he'd make tea after he showered, and two, she needed someone to tell her if the outfit looked nice or not. (She didn't have the most formal sense of style nor experience with it.)

They changed into more presentable wear than sleeping clothes. She put on a t-shirt and jeans, like she usually wore. It was hot, though. Maybe a dress or a skirt would be suitable. She grabbed the nearest dress she could find. It turned out to be a plain teal colored dress that went past her knees. The dress was sleeveless and comfortable.

Oh whatever, she thought, it's too hot for jeans and they most likely won't care about what I'm wearing.

Dora barely bothered with makeup. Lip gloss and the faintest hint of blush was all she wore. Remus was waiting in the living in room brown work pants and a white button down shirt. He fixed his tie.

"Do I look okay? I'd really rather not show up looking too formal."
"You look beautiful." he said, sounding in awe of her, even though she actually hadn't tried, "Ready?"
"Of course." she answered after slipping on a pair of beige flats.

They reached the Burrow. The stars were high in the evening sky. The door was swung open by Molly Weasley, who grinned widely at them. She hugged both of them together.

"It's wonderful see you both, you're just in time for dinner. The kids'll be so happy."
"Its wonderful to be here, Molly." Remus said, grinning.

She let them inside. Everyone had sat down for dinner. The family had decorated the place beautifully, with lanterns and streamers. They stood for a few seconds, looking for place to sit. Bill and Fleur were chatting with Fleur's family. Hagrid was sitting happily. The children were laughing and grinning. Then she noticed Charlie, one of her best friends from her years at Hogwarts.

"Charlie!" she spoke, only loudly enough for him to hear, "I haven't seen you in forever."
He turned around and beamed, "No way, is that Tonks? You haven't changed a bit."

Remus looked on, smiling at her enjoying herself. She sent him a glance. She hugged Charlie quickly and they spoke for a little while about how things have changed. Dora also showed him her left hand. She glanced back at Remus, who was smirking. Charlie smiled, obviously happy for them. Then they all sat down. Charlie was sitting with Bill, talking to him. Dora glanced at her husband and Molly brought out a cake shaped like a golden snitch.

"Confound it, Remus." she whispered, "We shouldn't have had those pancakes."
He laughed quietly, "They were good though, weren't they?"

But before they all could begin to eat, a silver weasel appeared—Arthur's patronus. It told them that he be arriving soon, but with the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. Only one thought crossed her mind, oh shoot.

"Well, it was nice seeing you all but I'm afraid we must be going." Remus said quickly, and Dora bet that no one would understand what he said.

He grabbed her wrist and they ran out the back door. In the heat of the moment and trying to leave as soon as possible, they'd forgotten about apparition. They made it as far as another field.

"Remus!" she yelled, "Remus, just wait a moment! Please."
He stopped, and turned around, "Are you alright? Did something happen?"
"No, I just think..." she panted, completely out of breath, "that we should... apparate."
"Ah, you're right as always, love."

They landed on the doorsteps of their home. Dora quickly let them both inside and crashed onto the couch.

"Do you want to explain exactly what happened over there, Remus John Lupin."

Hello fellow witches and wizards! I thought it'd be nice to publish early and I've got a few other chapters already written so might as well. Anyway, how's everyone? I want to thank everyone for coming this far because we are nearing the end. Thank you for the helpful votes and meaningful comments that have brought joy to my heart. 

I also never celebrated the 1K reads, so I'm apologizing for that.

Anyway, question of the chapter. This is a sad one.
Who's death was the most heartbreaking?

I'm already feeling the tears stream down my face, don't judge me. I have to say... I cried for about ten minute straight when Sirius died. I was kind of more shocked than upset that Dumbledore died—more like "THATS NOT POSSIBLE, THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN"—Snape's death wasn't the most upsetting, but what broke me was the flashback.  I didn't exactly mourn James and Lily, dint get me wrong, it's sad, but we didn't really see the characters that often and I felt like I didn't have time to mourn them. Hedwig, like Dumbledore was kind of like "THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN". Tonks and Lupin were upsetting, but the sad thing is that I didn't realize they died until I got to the part where Harry was going to the forest. So I complaining to my friend about how they weren't allowed to die. Cedric's was a little sad, but I didn't really break me until the end.

This makes it seem like I didn't read the books, doesn't it?

I'll see you all next chapter,
Abby