Phases of the Moon

Extended Summary:

Can a Witch . . .

Tonks is in love with Remus, but her antics to make him love her are put on hold when her parents are murdered. Although there isn't any real proof, the Order is convinced Voldemort has Tonks marked for dead. She soon finds herself not only in a fight for her life, but also in a struggle to overcome her grief and make Remus see just how much he really needs her.

A Muggle . . .

A common Muggle, Marcus is certain his roommate needs a girlfriend. His initial attraction towards Tonks turns into a sudden scheme to get her and Remus together. Events take place that throw Marcus into a world of magic, but he soon finds himself pulled deeper into the Wizarding World than he had ever wanted to go.

And a Werewolf . . .

Remus has thrown off Tonks's advances for a least a year. However, after going to her for assistance, Remus decides to stay to watch over and protect her. As the days go by he finds himself fighting with the real reason he can't allow himself to fall in love with her and the slow realization that he's swiftly falling for her anyway.

Overcome their Daemons and survive some of the Darkest Magic they have ever known?

Prologue

Remus was lying on his stomach in the bed in his tiny apartment. He wasn't exactly tired, but a nap sounded good. Besides, there was nothing particularly interesting on TV and because of the cold weather there wasn't anything to do outside either.

Winter had come quickly. It was September and already the temperature had dropped low enough for snow. Thank Merlin it hadn't done that yet. Remus pulled the covers tightly around him. The heating in this place sucked, for lack of a better word. But as long as it wasn't being used he didn't have to pay for it. Still, if the heater didn't start working soon, he'd probably freeze to death.

"We have yet another low front coming through . . ."

Remus groaned and pulled the pillow over his head to drown out the sound of the television. His hand searched blindly for the remote. He found it, turned off the TV with it, and tossed it carelessly onto the bedside table. He had no other plans than to stay where he was.

Then, just as he was starting to get comfortable, he heard the buzz of the doorbell.

That would be Marcus, Remus's roommate, back from the rock concert. He'd actually tried to talk Remus into going with him. Remus still laughed at the idea. Sure, Marcus was just trying to be nice. But him? At a rock concert? Yeah, right.

Remus forced himself out of bed. The difference in temperature hit him almost immediately. He would've liked nothing more than to dive right back under the covers, but it seemed as though Marcus had forgotten his key again.

He exited the small bedroom and entered the even smaller living room. "Coming," he shouted after a second ring of the bell. He crossed the kitchen (which was also small) and turned the doorknob.

He'd expected to find Marcus staring back at him, but instead he found a woman with shockingly pink hair standing on the other side of the doorway. "Nymphadora?"

There was something odd about her, something he could see in her eyes and in the rest of her face. She smiled, stepping toward him into the room. She tripped on the rug, Remus moved forward to catch her, and she succeeded in planting a kiss on his lips.

As soon as he recovered from shock, Remus pushed her away.

"Hi, handsome." She smiled.

He stared at her. Something was definitely odd. He opened his mouth to ask her if she was feeling alright, but then he stopped. He knew what was wrong. He could smell it on her breath and taste it from her kiss. "Have you been drinking?"

She giggled in a most un-Tonks-ish way. "No, of course not." She reached out for the door and missed it twice before she finally grabbed it and pushed it closed. "Why would you think that?"

"Right." He grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her toward the bathroom.

It took a lot of persuasion to get her to step into the shower. When she finally did get in, he quickly pulled the shower curtain closed and turned on the cold water before she had the chance to change her mind. A shrill gasp, almost a scream, escaped her throat.

She would sober up in a minute.

He exited the room quickly, feeling a little guilty: It was already cold in here and he'd just shoved her into a cold shower. What was wrong with that heater?

He walked over to the heater in the corner of the room and studied it. It was supposed to heat the whole apartment, not that he'd been able to test it: For some odd reason, it only spewed out cold air. He could get someone to fix it, but that would cost money that he didn't really want to spend when he could very easily fix it with his wand. However, Marcus was a muggle and he didn't want to make cause for suspicion. Neither him nor Marcus had much money, which is why they'd gotten this room together. If he fixed the heater with his wand, Marcus would wonder where the money had come from.

Of course, Remus thought somewhat bitterly to himself. Marcus is only as poor as I am because he spends everything he earns on admissions to rock concerts.

He told himself it was childish, but he kicked the heater out of frustration anyway. It hummed to life. He did a double take and put his hands over the vent to make sure it was hot air that was issuing out.

It was. Hallelujah!

Resisting the urge to turn the heat up full blast lest it stop working, Remus sat down at the table in the kitchen. It looked like he wouldn't be forced to use his wand after all. He laughed quietly to himself. If he'd known it would be that easy, he would've kicked the heater a long time ago.

His gaze wondered over to the bathroom. He could hear the shower running. He listened for a little while, letting the sound carry him to other thoughts. He hoped Tonks was okay. But after everything that had happened he knew that she couldn't be.

Tonks could feel the cold water hitting her face and soaking into her clothes, slowly but surely bringing her back to her senses. She turned the water up so it was warmer, but she could hardly feel the difference.

She didn't feel much these days. Ever since it had happened she'd felt like there was a gaping hole inside her, one that demanded all of her attention. At first, it had just felt numb. Then gradually it had filled her with a constant ache. It was always there, reminding her. She didn't think she'd ever get rid of it.

She removed her clothing and found her wand. Holding them away from the water, she dried her clothes and let them drop into a pile on the floor beside the tub.

She sat down and let the water wash over her as she tried to remember the night's events. She could remember going to the pub and showing up at Remus's door, but nothing in between. Oh, god! What if she'd done something really stupid?

Images flashed through her head, but they were all distorted and blurry. She couldn't recall what she'd done or even if she'd done anything at all. She'd gone to the pub and then . . .

. . . And then she'd arrived at Remus's. She couldn't remember deciding to come to his place, but she didn't have any difficulty remembering what had happened after that. She'd acted like a drunken idiot! Just thinking about it caused her to put her face in her hands. The last thing she needed was for Remus to think less of her.

She didn't know how long she'd sat in the tub, mulling over everything she could remember and trying fruitlessly to fill in the blanks. It only frustrated her enough to bring her to tears. She'd been emotional lately too, and she hated it.

"Nymphadora?"

Tonks was jerked back to the present when she heard Remus's voice.

"Um, yes?" she replied, fighting to disguise her tears.

"You've been in there for a while. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I-I'll be out in a minute."

She heard the door close with a soft snap.

She stood and let the water wash over her one last time before turning it off. She didn't know why she even bothered. Showers used to relax her . . . not anymore.

She stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel Remus had set out for her. Already her head was starting to pound as she dried herself off, and it only made her want to cry even more.

She reached for her clothes . . . then turned to be violently sick in the toilet.

Remus heard the chun that was the water turning off and then, a minute later . . . he couldn't help but sympathize. He crossed the floor space to the bathroom door and opened it. "Nymphadora, do you-?"

He'd opened the door just as she'd vomited for the second time. It was rather difficult for her to hold onto the towel, the rim of the toilet bowl, and her hair at the same time when she only had two hands. The towel dropped around her waist.

"Oh!" Remus quickly stepped back and pulled the door in front of him to block his view. "I apologize," he said as soon as he thought she'd stopped being sick enough to hear him. "I-I didn't see anything."

"That's alright." She sniffled. "It's okay, you can come in now."

He slowly opened the door to reveal her sitting before the toilet and clutching the towel to her chest. He sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?"

She tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "Like crap."

He tried not to let her see him smile, but it didn't matter. The next moment, she was clutching the toilet bowl again. He dove forward to hold her hair back for her.

"Thanks." Tonks gulped as she pulled back a few moments later, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Nymphadora . . ." She looked more like a miserable, sickly child than the wonderfully unique woman he knew her to be.

She turned away from him. "I'm sorry. I'm fine. D-don't worry about it."

"You're not fine." He reached out a hand to her.

She slapped it away. "No. It's fine. I'm alright."

"Nymphadora-" He tried again.

Again she slapped him away. "Don't! Just-" She nearly told him to leave her alone. "Just give me a minute."

She'd noticed lately that when she was alone she desired company and when someone was with her she yearned for solitude. But that was the last thing she wanted at the moment. Remus was just trying to help.

He waited as she wiped her eyes.

"Stupid thing to cry over," she muttered as she turned back to him.

They both knew that wasn't what she was really crying about.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "About what happened to your parents."

"That's what everyone says to me," she said bitterly.

He instantly wished he could take back what he'd said. He knew how she felt. He'd hated it when everyone had said the same thing to him when he'd lost the four people he'd cared about the most. He swallowed. "Are you under any protection or anything?"

"We can't prove that whoever killed them was really after me."

He stared at her incredulously. She had to be kidding. "Nymphadora," he tried attentively. "You do you realize the danger you're in?"

"The Dark Mark wasn't seen." She shook her head. "We can't know for sure if the Death Eaters were really . . ."

Remus wasn't listening. How could she think that she was safe? She was an auror! Surely, she'd seen enough in her career to know what was going on.

"Everyone keeps telling me that I need protection." Tonks continued with a bitter laugh. "The head of the Auror Department tried to force protection on me, but I went to Scrimgeour and told him that there wasn't any proof."

"And he was fine with that?" asked Remus, anger suddenly outweighing his confusion. "Because he doesn't care what happens to the people who work for him as long as the public thinks everything's okay so they don't throw him out of office like they did Fudge?"

"He was just being respectful to my wishes . . . unlike everyone else."

Remus didn't understand why she was being so blind. He realized she was grieving for her parents, but she needed to understand what was happening. She needed to understand that she wasn't safe. Her life depended on it. He tried to be as gentle as possible without upsetting her. "Nymphadora, the death of your parents-"

"Look, I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!"

An uneasy silence fell between the two of them. Tonks stared dumbfounded at Remus, not knowing what to say. She'd surprised herself with her outburst.

"Okay," Remus said after a while, swallowing his frustration. He got to his feet and went to the sink.

Tonks watched wordlessly as he opened a small cupboard with a built in mirror and pulled out a toothbrush along with a tube of toothpaste and laid them on the counter.

He nodded toward the objects. "You can use those if you want." He turned to leave.

"I'm sorry." Tonks said hurriedly, finding her voice. "I just-"

He exited the room without a word.

She felt horrible for yelling at him. She knew he had to be upset, but she didn't feel like explaining herself. The truth was, her reasons for declining protection were stupid and she knew it. She'd probably get herself killed . . .

She got dressed and charmed her hair dry, thinking that, despite everything, she was glad she'd come here. Remus understood what she was going through, even if he didn't understand some of the things she was doing. Unlike everyone else, he had more to give her than just empty words of comfort.

She brushed her teeth to get that horrible taste out her mouth, and experienced a slightly uplifting feeling when she realized that she was using his toothbrush. She immediately felt terrible for feeling that way. Her parents were dead. She shouldn't be thinking about things like that.

Her head pounding, she left the room to find Remus rummaging through the medicine cabinet.

"How's your head?" he asked as she sat down at the table. If he really was upset with her, he didn't show it.

"Feels like someone ran over it with a train," she replied honestly as she put her forehead in her hands.

"I'm afraid all I have is Advil," he said, holding out a few of the pills and a glass of water to her. There were better magical remedies, but when you had a muggle for a roommate you couldn't exactly have them readily available.

"That's fine." She took the Advil and downed the water.

He took her glass and filled it with ice cubes. He sat down across from her and slid the glass her way. "That will help too."

She fished a cube out of the glass and chewed on it. It helped, strangely enough.

Remus surveyed her carefully. "What happened, Nymphadora?"

She ran her finger along the rim of the glass before answering. She really didn't want to talk about it, but if she couldn't talk to Remus, who else was there? "I scattered their ashes today . . . at the place where they'd met, like they'd wanted . . . and I moved into the house."

"Maybe you shouldn't have moved in so soon." Remus suggested gently, though what he was really thinking was that she shouldn't have moved in at all.

Tonks shook her head. "They wanted me to have it-"

"They were murdered in it," he diligently pointed out.

"As everyone keeps reminding me," said Tonks unable to hide her frustration. "Like I need reminding." She stared at her hands. After a while she quietly said, "It's paid for. Beats paying rent."

The comment seemed to be directed at him, as though he would understand why she'd moved in since he was paying rent on this tiny apartment. But he didn't understand at all.

Remus shook his head. "I'm worried about you," he admitted. "We all are."

"I'll be fine."

"Nymphadora-"

"Stop calling me that!"

"You need protection," he insisted. "Someone's out to get you. If I were you, the last thing I'd be doing is living in that house."

The murder of her parents had been all over the papers - even the muggle ones. The muggle paper had called it a "burglary gone wrong," but Remus and the rest of the Order knew that the Death Eaters had something to do with this. There wasn't any reason for her parents to be killed, and there didn't appear to be a reason why the Death Eaters would be after Tonks either. But the Order was certain she was in danger.

She's in denial, Remus thought. It was the only thing that explained why she was acting this way.

"I'm not going to let them scare me, Remus." She'd inherited her father's stubbornness . . . or was it her mother's? They had both been pretty stubborn. "I'm going to fight this. I don't want any protection. I can take care of myself."

"I never said you couldn't, but-" He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. "What are you trying to fight? Listen, I know this is hard but you have to understand that someone is trying to-"

Tonks felt a blaze of fire consume her. Why did he always have to be so calm? Why couldn't he ever raise his voice? Why did he always have to make her feel like such a child? Why couldn't he just let go of his self-control every once and a while? Why did he have to be so bloody irritating!

"Damn it! You're not listening to me!" Tonks shouted as she threw her hands into the air. The glass fell from the table and shattered.

Tonks stared at the scattered fragments on the floor. Nothing was going right today or this week for that matter. She was hurt and frustrated. She wished people would stop predicting her doom. Hadn't her parents' deaths been enough?

She put her face in her hands. "I'm such a klutz."

"Hey, it's okay." He pointed his wand at the broken glass. Marcus would never know. "Reparo!"

He retrieved the repaired glass from under the table and surfaced only to find Tonks crying with her head in her arms.

"Nymphadora . . ."

"I'm sorry about the glass." Her voice sounded muffled and full of tears.

"Look, it's fine. I fixed it. I-" He shook his head. What was he talking about? He knew why she was crying and it wasn't because of the stupid glass. So much had happened to her lately. All she'd needed was just one little thing to tip her over the edge.

He sat the glass in the sink. Then he came back to kneel at her side. She threw her arms around his neck, crying uncontrollably into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I-miss-them-so-much," she sobbed.

"I know," he told her while gently patting her on the back. "I know."

"It-hurts-so-bad."

"It will get easier," he promised. "Shhhh . . . it's okay."

He held her as she cried, doing for her what no one had been able to do for him the night he'd learned of Lily's and James's deaths. As time began to pass he could feel his legs starting to go numb. He took the still sobbing Tonks completely into his arms and gingerly got to his feet.

He carried her over to the couch in the living room where he thought they'd both be more comfortable and sat down. Keeping her close to him, he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and enveloped her with it.

Tonks buried her face in his chest as his arms surrounded her once more, now accompanied by the blanket. For the first time, something broke through to that great gaping hole inside her, gently soothing some of the pain. She felt safe and warm, like nothing could touch her here. She could cry a whole ocean and tomorrow nothing would be said about it.

She knew now that this was what she had been needing. She'd pushed everyone away, had told everyone that she was fine. She'd even refused to let Molly in when she'd arrived at her door. Tonks had a good relationship with her, but she hadn't realized until recently just how much Mrs. Weasley reminded her of her mother.

Tonks seemed to cry forever as Remus gave her whatever words of comfort he could find. He wished he could do more, that he could brush the hurt away as easily as he wiped the tears from her face. Eventually, she quieted down, uttering a single sob every now and then but never releasing her hold on him.

"I'm so scared," she whispered so quietly he could hardly hear her. It was as though she was afraid of admitting it even to herself.

"It's going to be alright," he said, caressing her hair. He was scared too. He didn't want anything to happen to her or to anyone else that he knew, for that matter. The war was taking an effect on all of them. "We'll catch who did this. I swear."

She didn't utter another word, and after a considerable amount of time he felt her hold relinquish.

"Nymphadora?"

She'd fallen asleep, tearstains running down her cheeks.

He gently lay her down on the couch and pulled the blanket protectively up to her chin. After he had carefully removed her shoes and placed a pillow under her head, the doorbell rang.

Marcus. This time he was sure of it.

Remus crossed the room, went to the door and opened it. Marcus was there on the other side. The young man was all skin and bones with a dark brown tuft of unruly hair at the top his head.

"Hey, thanks, mate. I forgot my key, again." Marcus spoke before Remus had a chance to get a word in. "Didn't think you'd still be up. Great concert. You should've gone."

"Er, Marcus-"

"Is it just me or is it actually warmer in here than it is outside?" He crossed to heater before Remus could reply. "Oh, wow! That's actual heat! How did you-? There it is!" Marcus ran to the couch and picked up his missing key from the coffee table without even noticing that Tonks was lying there. "I knew I'd left it around here somewhere."

Marcus was about to sit down when he noticed Tonks for the first time, fast asleep in the spot he had just been about to place his rear end. "Whoa!" He jumped back, nearly falling over the coffee table. Remus shushed him.

"Sorry," Marcus whispered, moving away from Tonks. "Um . . ." He raised his eyebrows as he looked at Remus. "Did something happen here that I should know about?" He winked.

Remus fixed him with a cold stare.

Marcus held up his hands. "Oh, okay, not funny, sorry." He knew Remus to usually have a good sense of humor. If he wasn't laughing, something serious must be going on.

Marcus studied the woman sleeping on the couch. Cute was the first word that came to mind. She looked to be about the same age as he. He took in her pink hair that was suggestive of her personality and her heart shaped face that gave her a kind and gentle look. The tearstains were her only negative feature.

"Poor girl," he muttered under his breath. "So . . . who is she?"

"Everyone calls her Tonks." Remus told him. "She's a friend of mine."

"What's her real name?" Marcus asked curiously.

"Tonks is her surname." Remus explained. "I'd tell you her first name, but she'd probably kill me."

"Hates it that much, does she?"

Remus nodded. "I keep calling her by it." He smiled. "She's regretted telling it to me ever since."

"Tonks . . ." Marcus muttered. "I know I've heard that name before . . ."

"Her parents were in the paper," said Remus quietly.

"Paper . . ." Marcus grabbed the newspaper from the ottoman and took it over to the kitchen table to look through it. It took him a minute before he found what he was looking for. "Bloody hell . . . why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Well, I certainly would've said something if I'd known someone who had been murdered and had showed up in the morning paper."

"I knew about it before the paper came out."

"And you didn't feel the need to fill me in?"

Remus shrugged. "Sorry."

"Well, I realize you like to keep to yourself but-" Marcus cursed softly and ran his hand through his hair. His gaze wondered over to Tonks. "I take it that's their daughter?"

Remus nodded.

"Can't believe you didn't say something." Marcus muttered under his breath. "And to think you didn't call her to see how she was doing either."

"I contacted her," defended Remus, surprised Marcus would suggest such a thing. "You know me better than that. I called her as soon as I found out. Last Thursday, you were . . ." Remus threw up his hands. "Somewhere."

"I worked last Thursday," said Marcus.

Oh, yeah. That's right. It was hard to keep track of Marcus's schedule. "Anyway," said Remus. "I didn't know she was going to show up. She just . . . stumbled through the door." In a matter of speaking.

"So . . . the two of you are just friends?" asked Marcus, never taking his eyes off Tonks.

"Yes," said Remus shortly, not missing where Marcus's gaze was directed.

He knew that at that very moment Marcus was thinking of when the right time would be to ask Tonks out and he didn't particularly like the idea. The two wouldn't do well as a couple. Tonks had a high paying and respectable job at the ministry: She was responsible. Marcus was rather reckless: He spent money as soon as it hit his pocket. In a way, he reminded Remus of Sirius a little bit.

Oh, what did he care who Tonks went out with? It was her choice. She was perfectly capable of making decisions on her own.

"I'd wait a while before asking her out." Remus warned Marcus.

"Well, duh. I was gonna wait a while. You know me better than that." He mimicked. He turned back to Tonks. "I feel for her, though: Her parents being murdered and all. That has to suck. Big time."

The ground seemed to tilt under Tonks's feet. The darkness of the night threatened to close in around her and swallow her whole. Even the light issuing from the house was cold and unwelcoming. Her senses were ultra sensitive, the slightest sound or movement sending them into overdrive.

People passed her by but didn't even glance in her direction. She felt invisible, like her pain didn't matter to any of them. Their work was much too important. Whatever small amount of feeling they possessed, they were oblivious to the pain of an orphan.

Tonks wondered toward the house, her mind distorting every sight, sound, and feeling. The voices of those around her seemed to laugh in mockery. The doorway of the house seemed to twist and tower over her, as though daring her to enter. She felt numb, like all emotion had been bled from her body, never to return.

"Tonks?"

She turned at the sound and found Kingsley staring at her.

"You shouldn't be here, Tonks."

She turned back to toward the house. "I want to see."

She felt an arm wrap tightly around her waist, pulling her back. She struggled against his hold, her fists flying and her legs kicking.

"Tonks-"

"I want to see," she repeated more urgently, tears filling her eyes and blurring her vision.

"Tonks, just-"

"Let me go!"

Kingsley held more tightly to her, but it was proving more difficult to restrain her. He pulled her to the ground so he had something to pin her against. She sobbed into the dewy grass, still fighting against him.

"Tonks, think for minute. Do you really want to see them like this? Is this how you want to remember them? Seeing their lifeless bodies isn't going to help."

"They're not gone," she sobbed. "They're not gone. They're not . . ."

Two men came out of the house levitating body bags. Tonks struggled even harder. Kingley let her go, realizing he couldn't protect her from the harsh reality.

Tonks slowly unzipped the first bag with shaking hands, revealing the face of her father. There was no mistaking him, but with his eyes closed and his face as pale as fresh snow he looked so different than from the last time she'd seen him. Never again would she see the laughter that usually danced in his deep blue eyes. Never again would she feel the warmth of his embrace.

She moved to the second bag and looked down upon her mother. She reached out to brush her fingers against the equally pale face and felt skin as cold as ice. Only when she realized that neither of her parents would ever call her by the name she hated, the name they had given her, did it all finally sink in.

She fell a screaming, sobbing mess to the ground. The men moved away from her, taking their horrible cargo with them. Kingsley came to her and held her close, but there was no comfort in his arms. There wasn't any comfort anywhere for her anguish.

"Wonder what she's dreaming about."

Remus came to stand by Marcus and looked down at the sleeping woman on the couch. Tears were once again streaming freely from Tonks's eyes. She grasped the blanket tightly in her fist as her lip trembled, and she turned her face into the pillow where she uttered a sob.

Remus was moved into action.

Marcus watched, transfixed as his roommate comfortingly rubbed Tonks's arm, whispering softly into her ear. After a few moments, Tonks gave a shuddering breath, her sobbing ceased, and her hold loosened around the cloth. Remus carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks. He then dropped an innocent kiss into her hair. When he stood, Tonks looked more peaceful than before, as though no unwanted dreams had disturbed her sleep.

All Marcus could do was stare. "Dude, that was . . . awesome. And you don't have a girlfriend why exactly?"

"Marcus," said Remus exasperated.

Marcus loved heckling Remus on the subject of women. Remus was a nice bloke, and Marcus had trouble imagining anyone not liking him. He was just a likable guy. Marcus had been surprised how well he'd gotten along with Remus when they'd hastily agreed to rent this apartment together. He couldn't see how the man could have any difficulty with women.

"No, I'm serious." Marcus said quickly. He waved his hand at Tonks. "I could never do that. She'd wake up and wonder why I was in her face. Probably slap me. I'd make her cry even more." He avoids the subject like the plague, Marcus thought as he glanced at Tonks. For Remus, dating was out of the question. Marcus didn't understand. It wasn't like the man had a major disease or something.

Remus looked at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late. We should both get some sleep."

Marcus glanced around the room. "Um . . . where exactly am I suppose to sleep?"

He had a point. Marcus usually slept on the couch, which folded out into a bed, but seeing as Tonks was sleeping on it . . .

"I'll sleep on the floor." Remus volunteered.

"Oh, no way." Marcus protested. "I'll do it."

Remus nodded in Tonks's direction. "I'd rather stay out here in case she wakes up.

"I could do that."

"She doesn't know you."

Marcus paused, ready to protest. Then logic overtook him. "Point taken."

A tremor caused the floor to shake. Remus awoke. It was dark, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust.

The couch was unoccupied.

Remus pushed himself up into a sitting position. Pain shot through his body. He ached all over. It felt as though his bones were scrapping against each other. Never, he thought. Never again. Sleeping on the floor had been a very bad idea.

"Nymphadora?" he croaked.

A groan came from somewhere between the couch and the coffee table.

Ignoring the pain, Remus got to his feet. "Are you alright?" He helped Tonks up from the floor.

"There was a-a hooded man," she said. "He was ch-chasing me." Remus gently pushed her down onto the couch. "I couldn't get away."

"You were just dreaming," he told her.

"Was go 'n on?" Marcus mumbled as he emerged from the bedroom.

"She fell off the couch." Remus gestured toward his roommate. "Tonks, this is Marcus."

Marcus raised a hand in greeting. Tonks simply stared at him.

"Is she alright?" Marcus asked.

Remus studied her closely. She seemed a little disoriented. Even with the fall, it looked as though sleep was still affecting her.

"She's fine. Go back to bed, Marcus."

Marcus yawned and retreated into the room.

Remus turned to Tonks and lay her down. "You should get some sleep too."

She nodded, closed her eyes, and was gone in an instant.

Remus went to the closet and searched for as many blankets and pillows as he could find to turn into a makeshift mattress. Then he returned to his spot on the floor and fell asleep as well.

Remus woke up the next morning before Marcus or Tonks. It was a habit: He never seemed to be able to sleep in. Marcus on the other hand could sleep till three in the afternoon if you'd let him.

Remus stretched, feeling the aches of last night. It was amazing how something that supported the feet throughout the day could be so brutal on the rest of the body. Still, it had been worth it.

He went into the kitchen and got out everything needed to make a breakfast of sausage and eggs. If anything could wake Marcus up, it was the smell of food. Sure enough, Marcus appeared a few minutes later, looking quite the morning person in his pajama pants and a T-shirt with a picture of one his favorite rock group on it.

"I love it when you cook," said Marcus enthusiastically as he sat down at the table.

"I always cook." Remus pointed out.

"'Cause I burn everything." Marcus agreed.

"You just need practice." Remus suggested as he flipped over the eggs. He looked up as Tonks entered. "Did you sleep okay?"

Tonks knew her dreams last night had been filled with disturbing images, though she couldn't remember any of them. She nodded to Remus and turned to the person sitting at the table.

Marcus raised a hand. "Hi, again."

Tonks furrowed her brow. They must have met before but she couldn't remember when or where.

"Um, we met last night." Marcus explained. "You fell off the couch. Remember?"

Tonks shook her head, looking confused.

"You do speak right?" asked Marcus. "You're lips move and sound comes out and everything?"

Tonks nodded, then slapped a hand to her forehead. "I mean, yes. Sorry." She sat down next to Marcus. "I guess I was pretty out of it. I really don't remember."

"That's okay," said Marcus. "We weren't properly introduced anyway." He held out his hand. "I'm Marcus, Remus's roommate."

Tonks glanced at Remus. She hadn't known he had a roommate, but she introduced herself and shook Marcus's hand.

"I'm sorry about your folks," he said sadly.

Tonks stared at the table. "Yeah," she said, hoping that the subject would be dropped.

She felt better than she had yesterday. Though her head still ached, the gaping hole inside her didn't seem to hurt as badly. She still missed her parents terribly and the pain was still constant, but since yesterday's events it had lessened somehow. She supposed she'd just needed to get everything out of her system, and a good cry seemed to have done the trick.

Remus sat two plates on the table, one in front of Marcus and one in front of Tonks. "Hungry?" he asked her.

Tonks nodded. "Thanks."

Remus grabbed a plate for himself along with some silverware and joined them at the table.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Marcus asked Tonks.

"Well, I-"

Remus raised a napkin to his mouth and gave a cough that sounded a lot like "muggle." Tonks scrutinized him. Remus raised his eyebrows pointedly. Marcus didn't seem to notice.

"I work at the Ministry," replied Tonks carefully.

"Oh, really?" said Marcus, interested. "What is it that you do?"

"Um . . ."

"Can't tell me?"

"Not really. The Minister has a few of us working on a top secret assignment." She felt the corners of her mouth lift. "Though I'm not supposed to tell you that."

"You're beautiful when you smile."

"Thanks," said Tonks slowly, noting Marcus's advances. She looked at Remus. But I'm taken.

The trio sat and talked while they finished their food. Marcus even succeeded in making Tonks laugh. Despite the unwanted attention she got from him, Tonks rather liked Marcus. He was fun and laughing was something she'd thought she would never do again.

She got up to help Remus with the dishes when everyone had finished.

"You don't have to-"

"I want to help."

"I'll do it." Marcus appeared at her shoulder.

"But I-"

"You're our guest." Marcus explained. "Sit down, relax. I'll help. I always do it. Since I can't cook, at least I can clean up."

Tonks had no choice but to sit down at the table and watch as the men efficiently washed the dishes at the sink. Once they were finished, Marcus excused himself to change his clothes.

"You didn't tell me you had a roommate," said Tonks, taking advantage of the situation to talk to Remus. "Is he really that bad?"

Remus shook his head. "No, he's . . . fine." He sat down across from her. "It's just complicated with him being a muggle. I try not to tell him what's going on with me because . . . like I said, it's complicated. And I don't talk about him because it's easier to make sure nothing slips that way."

Tonks nodded. She could understand that. Then she smiled for the second time. "That cough was very tactful."

Remus laughed. Oh, yes, very tactful. "I panicked," he admitted. "I couldn't think of how else to get through to you."

Tonks continued smiling, taking joy in the fact that she could do such a thing so consistently after what had happened.

"He likes you," said Remus quietly, looking at his hands. It worried him that he couldn't sort out his emotions around it. Marcus liked her. Was that good, bad, neutral? He couldn't decide.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically. "I didn't notice." She'd have to tell Marcus the truth eventually, but for right now she was enjoying the extra attention. Remus never gave her any.

He looked up at her and noticed that she was still smiling. "See?" he said. "As long as you can do that, you're going to be fine." At least, he hoped so. She needed some time to adjust to her parents' deaths before she could accept that she was in danger. But how much time? And what would happen before then?

Tonks sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." Suddenly she didn't feel so sure. "I should probably be going. There's some things I need to take care of." She stood.

Remus got up as well. "You know, Nymphadora, if you need anything . . ."

"Thanks." She paused, then hugged him. "Thanks for . . . " Her voice broke. What was wrong with her? Why did she have to cry now? She'd been doing so well. "Thanks for everything."

"Nymphadora-"

She broke away from him. "I'm fine," she assured him as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I'm going to be okay." She wished she could feel as confident as she sounded. She crossed to the door. "Tell Marcus 'bye' for me."

Remus nodded. "Of course." He hated to see her go. He knew she was safe right here were he could keep an eye on her. But once she stepped outside it was all out of his hands.

She nodded in thanks and walked out the door.