Remus actually got to live his dream, thanks to Albus Dumbledore. When year that Harry Potter was in his third year at Hogwarts, Remus was finally able to become a Professor. It was also the year that he found out it was Peter Pettigrew who had betrayed James and Lily and framed Sirius as the Death Eater who was responsible. For two years, Remus had one of his best friends back. Unfortunately because of the war, he was unable to completely share that year with his friend. They had a few good times, but never recaptured what they had when James and Lily were alive. Too much time had passed. Then Sirius was killed at the Ministry of Magic, and Remus lost him all over again.
This time he wasn’t alone. Sirius’s young cousin, Nymphadora Tonks took the loss of Sirius to heart. Remus found it comforting to have someone else who had loved Sirius to remember his life with. He had even learned a few new stories about his friend from Tonks. His favorite was of Sirius visiting Andromeda, her mother and calling Tonks “M’lady” all day. It was so like his friend, and it had driven Tonks to tears of frustration because she didn’t like him calling her that.
As the summer passed, Remus realized Nymphadora was falling in love with him, and to his surprise, he was falling in love with her. It was at that point he started distancing himself from her. Molly Weasley encouraged him to accept her love, but he couldn’t. The years had shown him that he had a cursed life, and he could not force that life onto anyone else. He refused to listen to Tonks anytime she tried to argue otherwise.
He spent that school year undercover with the werewolves. He took occasional breaks to help with Order affairs, but did his best to stay away from Tonks. He couldn’t stand seeing her looking so thin, colorless, and lifeless. Not wanting to admit that it was the pain of missing him that was causing her distress, Remus lived in lonely denial. He was finally forced to patrol Hogwarts with her near the end of the school year.
Then the unthinkable happened. Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore and Fenrir Greyback attacked Bill Weasley. Tonks used Fleur’s determination to still marry Bill to fight against Remus’s unwillingness to accept her decision to love and honor him.
That night, Remus had a dream. His meeting with the woman at the Green Dragon Inn happened all over again through the night. He realized he knew who that woman was. It was Nymphadora Tonks as she had been immediately before Dumbledore died. The advice he gave her about everyone deserving love also came back to him. Maybe it was time to finally take his own advice and admit he was deserving of love. James, Lily, Sirius, Dumbledore, Declan, Tilly, Blenkin, and many others seemed to think he was worthy of their love.
The next morning, Remus went looking for Nymphadora to admit that he had realized he couldn’t live with how miserable he was making her. She needed some hope now that they had all lost Dumbledore. He found Tonks in Hogmeade at the Hog’s Head since the Three Broomsticks was temporarily closed until Madam Rosmerta could recover from the Imperius Curse.
“Tonks, could I have a word with you in private?” Remus greeted Tonks with a smile.
“Wotcher Remus.” Tonks replied with little enthusiasm, looking more depressed and colorless then the last time he had seen her. “The most private place around is outside. Would that be secluded enough for you?”
“I know the perfect place.” Remus grabbed Tonk’s hand and pulled her out the door.
Tonks lost her balance as she wasn’t expecting Remus to take her hand. Remus caught her before she hit the ground and place her back on her feet. This time he waited until she nodded before taking off out of the Tavern.
Remus walked back through town and turned towards the Shrieking Shack. Few people went up there, due to the “haunting” of the place. Remus knew the entire story and explained some of it while he was walking with Tonks.
“The Shack was built for me, so that I could undergo my transformations where everyone else would be safe from me. James, Sirius, and Peter found out my secret and after a few years managed to become Animagi. I still shudder when I think about what could have happened in those days. They claimed to have control over the wolf. I will never know what those nights were like, except from the stories they told me. They truly were great friends, and I know they loved me.”
Remus turned and looked Tonks in the eye. “I finally remember talking to you at the Green Dragon and I remember the advice I gave you. I’ve changed a lot through the years, and for almost thirteen years I let myself forget what it’s like to have those who care for you. I have forgotten who I was in those days. Many of those memories have come back since I remembered the inn and I realize that I’ve nothing to lose in letting you love me, and admitting that I love you back.”
Tonks looked at Remus in shock for a moment and then realized what he had just said to her. “All this time, you have known about my love, watched me fall into a deep depression and lose much of who I am, and you loved me in return?” She slapped him across the face.
Remus stood there in shock for a moment with his face stinging from the slap. Just when he was about to answer her, Tonks stood on her tiptoes and gave him a long passionate kiss.
When Tonks finally let him catch his breath, Remus rubbed his cheek for a moment and then decided that he deserved more than the slap for his behavior the past months. “I’m sorry that I hurt you, and I intend to try to make it up to you. We have had too many losses in this war and we need more love to come from Voldemort’s insanity. There is no way that Voldemort will ever win if love prevails.”
Tonks had already started to look more like the woman he had originally met. Some of the tiredness disappeared from her face and some color was returning to her skin. After looking at him for a moment, her hair suddenly turned bubblegum pink. That was when Remus knew she would be alright.
“Don’t you ever do anything like that to me again, Remus Lupin. I know what I’m getting into by loving you, and it’s my decision to make, not yours. There are plenty of precautions we can take, but I can’t imagine my life without you. If anyone can make this work, it’s the two of us.” Tonks wrapped her arm around him and started walking back towards town. “We have a lot of things to work through, but the first thing is to keep getting to know each other. We also have a great man to mourn.”
“That will take more then just a few days to get used to. We’ve had a mighty blow, but given a little time, we’ll learn to live without him. I’m just not sure how well, but the one thing for sure is Dumbledore will live on in our hearts. Dumbledore always stressed the power of love, and if we let our love grow nothing will be able to stop us. Voldemort will be powerless against what he doesn’t understand.” Remus was still melancholy, but with this woman by his side he knew he could get through anything. In the end, he was no longer lost or alone.
