T is for Tonks

Chapter 22 - There is a Light That Never Goes Out.

NO joke, i was writing this and "its quiet uptown" from Hamilton started playing from my playlist and my heart broke. Seriously though, when i read the book and Sirius died i curled up in my bed and sobbed for about an hour. He's my favorite. H. x

Prematurely, if you asked the mediwitches, Tonks limped out of the meticulously sanitized ward of St Mungo's with her wooden crutches, little more than a week later. Remus was beside her, carrying a large brown paper bag, filled with potions and dressings and an appointment slip to get her cast removed. Tonks's hair was her natural dull brown color and fell into a knotted matt just below her shoulders, she looked nothing like her normal self. Though her injuries were fading, they were not completely gone. Her face looked pale and gaunt and there were still crimson scabs clinging to her skin. Remus was glad to have her home in time for the remembrance service that they were holding for Sirius. He didn't think that he could make it through alone. 

They had been unable to find Sirius's body, and it was incredibly tormenting. Remus wished he could give Harry the closure of burying his godfather but they had nothing to bury. Instead they had to settle with a memorial gathering, still under covert operations given that Sirius Black was still very much in the press. It was some sort of a wry joke, Remus thought, that Sirius's face was still plastered all over The Daily Prophet (albeit for the wrong reasons) even after he had passed. From his heavenly abode in the sky, Remus could feel his best friends smirk as though he was leaning to read over his shoulder. 

Like Harry, Remus craved the closure that a funeral and burial might offer. He wouldn't admit it, but Tonks could tell. She hoped that the gathering would help him to find some satisfaction. There was nothing worse to clinging onto the last dregs of something that was nearly non-existent. 

Walking through the front door of Grimmauld place felt sacrilegious. Tonks recalled meeting Sirius for the first time in this hallway, and a clump of emotion clogged her throat. Luckily, there was a flash of ginger hair and a birds nest with legs, pelting towards her that relocated her focus. Tonks wobbled and winced as Ginny and Hermione embraced her, Remus's hand at the small of her back was the only thing that prevented her from toppling backwards and onto the floor. They were both dressed in black and it only made Ginny's skin look more pale and her hair stand out even more.

Remus gave a gentle smile at the girls. "Easy there you two, you don't want to send Tonks back to St Mungo's" 

Neither of the two girls eased their grip on the witch, Tonks only wished she didn't have to use the crutches to stand so that she could wrap her arms around the pair of them. "Its fine love, They don't treat me like I'm made of porcelain. Unlike some." 

"No offence, but you smell like a hospital. " Hermione scrunched her nose. 

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I cant imagine why, Hermione." 

There was the unmistakable creak of floor boards from the floors above, and Tonks looked up to see the rest of the ginger haired children staring down at her. Molly was stood at the top of the stone steps that lead down to the basement kitchen, she looked odd in her worn black mourning robes. 

"Are you hungry dear? I'll bet you've had nothing but hospital food. I'll fix you something."

"That would be amazing Molly, if you wouldn't mind." Tonks blushed, feeling guilty that everyone was standing ceremony for her. She turned to the girls. "Will you two help me get dressed?" 

_____

Remus had lifted Tonks into a warm bath that smelt like oranges, and Tonks was glad to be able rid herself of hospital smell. The warmth allowed her to relax her muscles for the first time in a week, even though she was forced to prop her cast on the side of the tub to prevent it from getting wet. Remus had even washed her hair for her. Tonks had moaned as he scratched her scalp and she made a mental note to get him to do this for her when she wasn't incapable of sex. After lifting her out of the tub, Remus had plopped Tonks onto Ginny's bed where she was at their mercy.