Interhouse Fest 2016 - Hope Versus Werewolf (Part 1 of 2)
Title: Hope Vs. Werewolf
Author/Artist:
Characters: Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Ted Tonks, Sirius Black, Molly Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Mad-Eye Moody, Peter Pettigrew
Prompt number: 7
Word Count: 15,177
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mild sexual content, violence and cursing
Summary: After her father meets a strange wolf in the forest, Auror Nymphadora Tonks decides to investigate, and ends up getting far more than she bargained for.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Harry Potter characters or the original story of The Beauty and the Beast. I’m just borrowing them for my (and your) amusement and not making any money out of this! No copyright infringement is intended.
Author’s Notes: This is the longest fic I’ve ever written! And a huge thanks to my beta, you know who you are :)
Part I
Remus had always hated Divination as a school subject, and of course their best hope of breaking the curse cast upon him and his friends required the use of a crystal ball. Sighing, he took a look at the foggy image now showing up in the sphere. A plump, kind-looking man sitting at a kitchen table, reading a letter from his daughter. Somehow the man looked familiar, but he couldn’t place where they might have met.
He didn’t pay much attention to the words on the parchment, but beside the letter lay a photograph of a young woman. Her pink hair certainly caught his attention, but what truly got his heart pounding was the fact that she was wearing Auror’s robes. Not that he thought there was much of a chance of anyobody breaking the curse, but at least an Auror would probably be less frightened than the other women he’d encountered in the last five years. Sirius woke up from his slumber in the corner of the room and placed his paws on the small table. Padfoot’s tail began to wag at the sight of the girl, and he let out an excited bark.
That’s my cousin’s daughter! And She’s perfect, an Auror won’t chicken out like the other ones did!
“I know.” murmured Remus, although he was not nearly as optimistic as Sirius. Nevertheless, he had to try. His friends deserved to be free.
“Wait, what do you mean that she’s your cousin’s daughter?”
Yeah, remember Andromeda? She was disowned by the family and married that Muggle-born you’re looking at.
“Right, now I remember.” And he did. Andromeda and Sirius had been quite friendly when they were all younger, and her decision to rebel against the noble house of Black had effectively made her Sirius’s favourite relative.
Sirius barked again when the crystal ball showed Ted Tonks leave his house and head out of the village, towards them.
Let’s go and get him, Remus, then we can make him call his daughter here.
“I don’t want to kidnap anyone, Sirius! How many times do I have to tell you that? It hasn’t worked before, and it won’t work now!” Raved Remus, directing his attention on his canine companion.
The large, scruffy mutt whined and barked in answer.
A woman needs to fall for you, and we’re almost out of time, Moony. It’s been nearly five years since I’ve been able to talk to anyone else but you, do you have any idea how that feels? If this fails, I’ll be a dog for the rest of my life!
“Yes, I am aware that we need a woman here to break the curse. And yes, I am aware of how little time we have left. Nevertheless, I would still prefer not resorting to kidnapping. If you want this woman to take a liking to me, I don’t think scaring her is the way to go. You remember that redhead you dragged in two years ago? She was too scared to speak, so we never even found out her name! Or that innkeeper’s daughter, remember her? She locked herself into her room and smacked you with a candlestick when you stuck your head inside.”
Another bark followed, and the dog cocked its head. Yeah, yeah… How about we scare the man, make sure he realises you’re not a regular wolf, and then trust that the girl’s curious enough to come and investigate? And if that doesn’t work, then we can try the kidnapping again.
Remus swallowed. He wasn’t all that fond of Sirius’s new suggestion either, but it was better than kidnapping an innocent man, and then his daughter. It might work in this particular case, but it was still a risky plan. He let out a sigh.
“Fine, Padfoot, you win. We’ll do it. Today.”
***
Ted Tonks’s day was shaping up to be a good one. His beloved daughter, Dora, would be in soon for her weekly dinner with her parents. As much as he loved the quiet nights alone with a book or a nice Muggle TV show, Dora’s visits were the highlights of his weeks. Bright, quick-witted and funny, Dora’s stories of her adventures with the other Aurors offered Ted an endless source of entertainment. His late wife would have been worried about her safety, but he knew what Dora was made of.
Whistling a nameless tune he’d heard on the wireless earlier that day, he strolled through the forest after picking a basketful of blueberries. The work had left him slightly out of breath and his back ached, but the berries would make for a lovely dessert. He wasn’t much of a cook, and neither was Dora, but his household spells were just enough to whip up some cream to go with the fresh blueberries.
Consumed by his thoughts of the lovely roast he had waiting for them at home; it took him too long to notice that the forest around him had gone entirely quiet. It was as if even the air had stopped moving. He stopped to look around, dread slowly filling him and making his legs feel like jelly. There was something out there. Slowly, he set the basket on the ground and dug out his wand. He had heard of strange things happening in this forest, but had never seen anything with his own eyes, and even the stories he’d heard were vague.
The leaves of a nearby bush began to rustle. Ted swallowed. He preferred facing any beasts head on, as he knew that he was too slow to escape anything by running.
A large, black dog came out of the bush and stopped to stand right in front of Ted. It turned its dark eyes on him and revealed its sharp teeth.
“Stu- stupe-“ stuttered Ted, trying to back away from the dog, but the animal jumped at him before he managed to get the spell out.
Ted shoved at the dog in vain and tried to stick his wand into its eye, but it dodged and growled at him. Its saliva spilled onto Ted’s cloak. Why hadn’t it already sunk its teeth into his throat?
It was only then that he took notice of a new sound. There was another animal here. Turning his head, he caught glimpse of a larger canine form between the trees next to the path he was currently lying on. This one was no dog, and it was staring straight back at him.
Ted’s first thought was that the dog had simply been waiting for his friend before eating him. Maybe the wolf was the leader of the pack, and would get to eat his fill first. However, the wolf made no move to advance on him. After staring at Ted for a time that felt like minutes at the very least, the wolf turned its back on him and whined, showing its tufted tail in the process. The dog, whose front paws were still pinning Ted to the ground, barked in response to the whine and the pressure on Ted’s chest eased. Before he had a chance to catch his breath properly, he was alone again. The animals had left just as swiftly as they’d initially shown up. With a shaky hand, he reached for his basket, and continued his way home as fast as his feet could carry him.
***
Nymphadora Tonks was surprised not to find her father at his house. He’d known she was coming for dinner and should have been home by now. There were no traces of struggle or dark magic, but she was unable to stay put and wait, so she headed out to look for him.
The village main street was mostly empty, but naturally the only people around were her least favourite colleague and his sidekick Pete. Sighing, she prepared herself for the encounter. She didn’t know which one of them she disliked more; Dawlish, his leering and continued demands that she date him or his short squeaky-voiced companion who always managed to make her skin crawl when she felt his eyes on her.
“Dora, there you are! I was just on my way to the pub, care to join? I’ll buy you a drink,” cooed Dawlish. How many times would she have to reject him until he took a hint?
“No, thanks, Dawlish. And I know it’s useless, but I’m going to say this once more: stop calling me that.”
“I can’t call such a pretty girl by her last name! Especially if you still won’t call me John!” He flirted, eliciting a snort from her.
“Then don’t call me anything at all!” She yelled, rolling her eyes.
“Come on, Dora, loosen up a bit.”
“We’re not in the office now, and I happen to be busy,” she replied, taking off on a jog toward the other end of the village.
No matter where she went, there was no sign of her father. Deciding to return to his house, she took a detour to avoid Dawlish and Pete.
She reached her father’s house, but before she had time to go inside, she saw a familiar figure hunched on the street a few houses away.
“Dad?”
“Dora,” her father panted.
”Dad, what happened to you?” She asked. His face was red and he was so out of breath he could barely get out a word. Supporting him, she managed to get him into his house and seated on the sofa.
He took a deep breath and tried to say something, but instead broke into a cough.
“I’ll get you some water,” she said, summoning a glass and water from the kitchen. Half of it spilled onto the floor on the way, but half a glass was still better than nothing.
Ted downed the water and the coughs subsided.
“I was attacked,” he croaked, grasping his daughter's arms.
“What? Where? By whom?”
“In the forest. There was a dog, and a wolf. Or at least I think it was a wolf. There was something odd about that wolf though…”
“Start at the beginning, Dad,” she coaxed, sinking onto the sofa next to her father. Dinner would have to wait.
***
“Was there anything else about the wolf that seemed strange to you?” She asked, after listening to her father’s story in its entirety.
“Other than that it had blue eyes and instead of attacking me, it just stared?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not sure, love. You know I’m hardly an expert when it comes to animals. What do you think it is?”
She shrugged.
“It could be an Animagus, I suppose. Either way, scaring people like that is not all right. I’m going to go out there and see if I can find out more.”
“Dora, are you sure it’s a good idea? It’s getting dark outside…”
“I can handle this, Dad, you know that. I’ll be back before you know it,” she reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze.
“What if you’re not? When should I alert the Ministry?”
She hesitated.
“If I don’t come back, talk to Mad-Eye in the morning. But I will be back tonight, Dad.”
She knew what some of the villagers thought about her father; that he was an odd Muggle-born widower with an even odder daughter. Nevertheless, she trusted his judgment enough to know that there was reason to investigate. Glad she’d brought her winter cloak, she stepped out of her childhood home and closed the door behind her.
As she began making her way toward the forest, she briefly wondered if she was making a mistake in not alerting Mad-Eye. It just seemed silly to call upon her mentor every time something even slightly suspicious took place. She could handle the initial recon herself, and then talk to him if further action was needed. Eventually she’d have to learn to work on her own anyway and to rely on her own judgment, so she might as well start tonight.
***
The part of the forest where her father had encountered the two animals was thick, and barely any light seeped in through the trees. She didn’t particularly like using the light on her wand, but it was better than walking around blind and possibly tripping on something and falling, which was not an unlikely outcome for her.
She reached the spot where her father had been attacked, the underbrush was still flattened where her father had fallen. It was difficult to find any animal prints in the thick vegetation and the darkness, but she did manage to find two sets of paw prints. The smaller ones definitely belonged to a dog, but the larger ones… They were wolfish, yes, but something about them made the hairs in the back of her neck rise. If she didn’t know better, she’d have said they were werewolf prints. But it wasn’t even close to full moon, it just made no sense…
Following the prints into the trees, she felt the familiar signs of excitement take over her instincts; every single sound in the forest was magnified. If it really was a werewolf, why hadn’t it attacked her father?
She heard the hoot of an owl, the scurrying of mice and even managed to scare off a red fox, but there was no sign of a dog or anything else. Just as she was starting to considering turning back, she reached a clearing, and in the middle sat a house. It wasn’t large, and it looked old and in need of maintenance, but there was light in the first floor windows. Someone was living there.
So strange. She’d heard plenty of stories about her home village and forests surrounding it, but never anything about people living in the middle of it. Staying in the shadow of the treeline, she considered her options. She could go back to her father and come back tomorrow, or she could knock on the door and question the people in the house. Maybe they knew something about the dog and the strange wolf. Or maybe they were in that house…
As if it had heard her thoughts, the front door opened and a large, black dog stepped out.
***
Remus wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it certainly hadn’t been this. The young woman they’d wanted to lure to the house practically barged inside with her wand drawn out and tripped on the umbrella stand, ending up on the floor.
“Do you need help?” He enquired, offering her a hand.
She eyed him with distrust, but then took his hand anyway.
“That was quite an entrance,” he said, trying to calm his nerves. Her eyes were busy scanning her surroundings, and he couldn’t help noticing that her chestnut brown hair was full of leaves from the forest.
She sighed.
“Let’s start from the beginning. I’m Nymphadora Tonks, and I’m looking for a dog and a wolf that attacked my father earlier today,” she said, truly facing him for the first time.
“Nice to meet you, Nymphadora-“
“Just Tonks, please.”
“Tonks, then. I’m Remus Lupin, and the dog in the corner is Padfoot,” he answered, pointing at Sirius, who had placed himself between the door and the woman.
“I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but I have to ask: Is he your dog?” She asked.
Sirius scoffed. She’s rather rude, you know. The two of you should get along splendidly.
“He’s nobody’s dog,” Remus replied, trying not to chuckle.
“Does he have a wolf friend?”
He hesitated. Surely an Auror would not be as horrified as most people, but considering what was at stake and what successfully breaking the curse required, he wasn’t sure if telling her the truth about his condition was a good idea at this point.
“Well, there are wolves in the area, although I’ve never seen any myself.”
He watched as her brown eyes narrowed. She didn’t believe him.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you any further, but please stay for tea.”
“I shouldn’t, my father’s expecting me.”
He wondered if he’d be able to explain himself to her, and took a deep breath. This was the first time he’d even made it this far.
“If you follow me to the kitchen, I think you’ll find something that’ll interest you as an Auror,” he blurted out, relieved when he managed to get it out. Perhaps he could tell her about about the curse if he was vague enough.
***
This was a strange house, and Remus Lupin was a strange man. However, she was hardly defenseless and if he was being honest with her, there was no way she’d be able to resist a good mystery.
“All right then. But I must get back straight after tea,” she heard herself reply.
She followed him into a well-lit kitchen. At first glance nothing seemed out of place and she was about to turn on her heels until she heard a new voice.
“Evening, dear! How lovely to meet you, we don’t get many guests here, I’m afraid.”
She turned towards the voice, her wand still at the ready, and was surprised to find she was staring at a teapot.
“What is this?” She hissed, turning back to Remus.
“This is Molly,” he answered, motioning to the teapot.
“Yes, dear. I’m Molly Weasley,” it said, and now she saw that it had eyes. Had Remus done this to her? So far he seemed to be the only one in the house capable of handling a wand. Cursing herself, she wished she’d talked to Mad-Eye. This was more serious than she’d thought.
“I’m Nymphadora Tonks,” she mumbled in response.
“Please have a seat, I’ll have tea for you in just a minute. Would you like some biscuits as well?”
“Errr, no thanks. Are you, Remus and Padfoot the only ones here?” She asked, wondering how many other people here had been turned into inanimate objects.
“Most of my family’s here, dear. You’ll find them in the living room.”
Family. Children. Was the dog a human too? She’d seen enough. Raising her wand, she directed it at Remus.
“You can try to change them back if you’d like to, but you’ll find that your spells don’t work on them,” he said, raising his hands in surrender.
“Did you do this?” She asked, still refusing to lower her wand. He didn’t seem like a lunatic, but then again, not all dark wizards seemed dangerous.
“Merlin, no,” he sighed.
“Then who was it?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Literally can’t.”
“This place is cursed,” she said, more to herself than him. Whatever curse she was up against, it was powerful, probably more powerful than any curse she’d come across in her career before. Mad-Eye would have to be alerted immediately.
Part II
“I’ll help you, but I can’t do it on my own. We have curse breakers at the Ministry who’ll know what to do.”
The dog growled, and Remus shook his head insistently.
“The Ministry can’t get involved.”
“Why?”
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I could tell you.”
“You’re claiming this was done by someone at the Ministry?”
Remus opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out.
“Right. Sorry. But I still need to tell the Ministry something, if I’m not going to be showing up to work tomorrow morning. They’ll come looking for me otherwise.”
“Yes, I guess you must. But please, don’t tell them too much.”
“I’ll just talk to my mentor and make sure my dad doesn’t worry. I could use your fireplace-”
“We’re not collected to the Floo Network. You’ll have to go back to village. Padfoot will accompany you.”
“Or you could just trust me. I am coming back, you know.”
Remus smiled despite himself.
“Do you trust me, Tonks?”
“That’s different!”
“No, it’s not. Padfoot will make sure get things sorted. Good night, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Without another word to her, Remus walked out of the kitchen.
***
"Why are you sending the dog with me? Can't you come yourself?"she asked, following him out of the room. He had reached a set of stairs leading to the 2nd floor and started climbing.
"No, I can't," he replied without turning back to look at her.
"What happens if you leave the house?" she continued, ignoring his dismissal.
"I'll tell you tomorrow!"
The slam of a door upstairs told her that as far as he was concerned, they were done for the night.
"And what are you even supposed to do if I refuse to go back?" she asked the dog as he jogged beside her on the road to the village.
Padfoot replied by barking, but of course she had no idea what he was saying. The barks sounded an awful lot like laughter though, but she was probably imagining it. Meeting Molly had left her paranoid.
All the lights were still on when she reached her father's house.
"Stay hidden, or you'll scare him!" she hissed to Padfoot, who settled into a shadowy corner on the porch, growling softly.
"Dad? Are you still awake?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
"Dora, thank Merlin! Are you all right?" he asked, wrapping her into a tight embrace.
"Yeah, everything's all right, but I found something that I need to look into."
"For work?"
"Yeah. I'm going back there as soon as I've owled Mad-Eye. Is it alright if I borrow Mouse?" she asked, already looking around the kitchen for their old barn owl.
"Of course, love! But do you really have to go back tonight?"
"I really do, this case is urgent."
"When will you be back?"
She hesitated.
"I'm not sure, it might be a while, but don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise," she replied, flashing him a smile that she hoped looked more confident than she was feeling.
Her father didn't look entirely convinced, but he said nothing. He had always supported her career choices and had faith in her abilities. She could only hope he would trust her this time as well.
After sending Mouse on her way with her message and packing some spare clothes, she hugged her father once more. She really no idea how long this would take and if she would even be able to contact him anytime soon.
"Be safe, Dora, please," pleaded her father, refusing to let go of her.
"I will. I'll write you as soon as I can," she promised, disentangling herself from his grip.
Padfoot was still waiting for her when she left the house.
"Right. Let's go then," she said quietly.
Her father was an adult and by now used to living alone, but they were close and she would miss him. Apparently noticing her sour mood, Padfoot nuzzled her hand with his nose and gave it a single lick. She smiled.
"Thanks, boy," she said, patting the dog's head.
***
Remus's bones creaked as he rose from bed the next morning. Although the transformations outside the full moon didn't take as big of a toll on his body as his regular ones, he was still sore and irritated. He would stay in the house or on the porch from now on as much as he possibly could.
Just then he fully remembered the events of the previous day. Nymphadora Tonks. His guts twisted painfully when he thought about what he'd have to do to set his friends free. Fooling an innocent woman felt wrong, and why would she even fall for him in the first place?
As he approached the kitchen, it became clear to him that everyone had met her by now. The laughter emanating from the room was something he hadn't heard from his friends in years. As he entered the room, Tonks was sitting at the table, nursing a large cup of tea, surrounded by the Weasley children.
Ron and Ginny, forced into the form of teacups, were on the table, as was Percy, as a tableclock, listening closely to Tonks's story about her first day as an Auror. The twins, as footstools, were on the floor, while Bill, the grandfather-clock, stood in the corner, speaking to his girlfriend Fleur, a wardrobe. Molly was next to the stove, as usual, helped by Arthur, as a candlestick. Sirius was sitting on the floor next to Tonks, wagging his tail and clearly hoping a piece of her toast would find its way into his mouth.
"Morning, Remus!" called Arthur.
"Morning," he murmured back.
You should show her around the house, said Sirius.
"Fine, fine," Remus muttered, clearing his throat.
"I could show you around the house after breakfast. Not that there's much to see, but anyway."
"Sure! I'll be finished soon."
The tour of the house wasn’t exactly a long affair, as the building consisted of only three bedrooms, the kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, a library and a basement. Remus hadn’t even been planning on showing her where the entrance to the basement was located, but there wasn’t much else he could do when she tripped on the handle of the trapdoor under the living room rug.
“Ugh! What’s in there?” she asked, pushing herself to her feet.
“That’s the entrance to the basement. I ask you not to go there,” he replied, preparing himself for the questions he knew would ensue. Nymphadora Tonks didn’t strike him as someone who left stones unturned. This one would have to stay that way, however.
"Why?"
Remus hesitated.
"It's a private matter."
She frowned at him.
"You know, I don't like it when people try to make my job more difficult," she answered, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
"There's nothing down there for you to see. You won't break the curse by going in there,” he insisted, mentally reminding himself to strengthen the wards on the trapdoor. But would even that help if she decided to go in?
“Fine, I’ll let it go. For now,” she muttered in reply. She didn't seem entirely happy with the excuse he’d provided her with, but it was all he had to give.
“How about we take a look at the library?” he suggested, deciding that redirecting her thoughts away from the basement would be the best course of action.
“Sure. You wouldn’t happen to have any books that might help me break the curse?” she asked, half joking.
“I guess we should have a look,” he replied, striding past her to open the door to the library.
"Hold on a second, I'll be right there," Tonks said, stopping in front of a mirror.
He watched as she scrunched up her face and suddenly her brown hair turned into the vivid pink he'd seen in the photograph.
"Impressive. I assume you are a Metamorphagus then?"
She turned to him, grinning proudly, her brown eyes twinkling.
"Yeah, I am. No idea where I got the powers from, but it is genetic."
"That must come very handy as an Auror."
She nodded.
"It does. Concealment has always been my specialty."
He couldn't help but be impressed by her. Metamorphagi were rare, but her talents reminded him that not all shape-shifting had anything to do with dark magic.
"Let's see about that library, then!" she blurted, striding past him.
Remus smiled at her enthusiasm, although he knew it was mostly brought on by her motivation to break the curse. His library just was hardly something all that many people were interested in, no matter what their motives were. He had rarely had the opportunity to show his and his father's collection to anyone, and even more seldom had he been able to show it to someone who would probably be able to appreciate it.
***
"You've got quite the collection here," she said, genuinely impressed. As far as the Dark Arts were considered, the Hogwarts library had nothing on this room. There were dozens and dozens of volumes on curses, counter curses, and dark creatures.
She had always been more into learning things on the fly rather than by reading, but who could resist books like these?
"Most of them belonged to my father," he replied.
"What did he do for a living?"
"He studied dark creatures. It was his life's work."
"And you're taking after him?"
"It's more of a hobby than a profession for me, but perhaps you could say that."
"Can I read these? I mean, maybe there's something here that can help me find out more about your curse. The things you can't tell me yourself."
"Feel free to browse here as you wish. Like I said, you can go anywhere in this house, except for the basement."
"And I still don't understand why that is."
"And I still can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?"
"Let's have a look at these books then, shall we?"
"Don't change the subject."
"All right. Would it satisfy you if told you that there's nothing in that cellar that could help you break the curse?"
He seemed sincere enough, but there was no chance of her forgetting about the forbidden room underneath their feet. She didn’t quite trust him enough to believe that there was nothing of interest to her down there.
"You said that already, and I can't make any promises."
***
Over the next week, the two of them spent most of their time in the library, poring over one book after another. She learned that Remus's knowledge of the Dark Arts was impressive and couldn’t get enough of his stories of encountering the creatures she'd only read about in books or perhaps faced in a controlled environment.
"You'd make a fine Auror, you know," she told him one chilly afternoon, as they were enjoying tea over a large volume on Inferi.
He let out a snort, and she felt her cheeks redden from the embarrassment. He must think her insensitive, this man had been confined to this house for years after all, and unless she broke the curse, he would not get to work anywhere again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that you know so much about all this, far more than most of the people I work with."
He shook his head.
"No offense taken. Nevertheless, I find it hard to believe that your colleagues are less knowledgeable than I am."
"If you only knew..." she trailed off. People like Dawlish were perhaps smart and physically capable but had no desire to learn anything new and lacked the ability to adapt into surprising situations. She had had the misfortune of working with him on a few missions and the man had had the guts to try and take all the credit for their arrests, claiming he’d pulled off some risky move, when in fact he’d been huddling behind something, sending a half-aimed spell at the enemy every now and then, while she’d been moving around and sometimes actually pulling the kind of risky moves Dawlish could only dream of. The Ministry would be lucky to have someone like Remus on their payroll.
***
The days passed surprisingly fast in the house. Tonks used most of her time in the library with Remus, and when she got sick of being cooped up inside, she’d throw sticks to Padfoot in the clearing. Remus had been largely absent for the last few days, but Molly had assured her that he was simply feeling under the weather and that she shouldn’t worry.
It had been five weeks now since she’d last seen her dad, and she felt nowhere closer to breaking the curse than she’d been that very first day. No matter how many times she went through all the notes she’d made on the house and its inhabitants, she felt like she was still missing the most important pieces of the puzzle.
The clock on her nightstand showed that it was after three o’clock in the morning, and she hadn’t slept a wink. Hoping a cup of chamomile tea would help, she set out to the kitchen.
She hadn't expected anyone to be awake at this hour, so she was surprised to hear the clanking of dishes from the kitchen as she descended the stairs.
Remus was standing at the stove, with his back turned to her, stirring something that smelled very
much like hot cocoa to her.
"Wotcher," she greeted.
"Hello."
"Couldn't sleep either?"
"I operate on very little sleep these days."
"I usually sleep well, but this curse is keeping me awake."
Remus sighed.
"I truly wish I could tell you more."
"I know."
"Would you like something to drink?"
"What are you having?"
"Cocoa."
"I'll have the same."
He poured the cocoa into two large mugs and set one in front of her on the table, taking a seat across from her.
***
"I'm sorry you've had to stay here for so long... I know you must miss your family and friends."
"Well, this is my job, so no apologising. You need help, and I'm not leaving until I've broken the curse."
"Where does the Ministry think you are?"
"I asked my mentor to cover for me, to tell the office that he'd sent me out on an assignment. He's a little eccentric but also the best Auror I've ever met and they don't really want to cross him there," she replied, smirking.
Remus frowned.
"Who's your mentor, if I may ask?"
"Mad-, erm, Alastor Moody."
"I thought he retired years ago!"
"You know him?"
"We worked together during the war against Voldemort."
"I had no idea! He was supposed to retire but changed his mind, and you can probably figure that there's no putting Mad-Eye on retirement unless he agrees."
Remus nodded, smiling back at her. He hadn't expected her to be Moody's protégée. Considering that the old Auror was extremely paranoid and picky about who he agreed to teach, if Tonks had managed to convince him, she must truly be quite talented even for an Auror.
“I’m sure he showed up to see my dad and to evaluate if I’d been somehow compelled to send him that letter, but I’d like to think he knows better than to think that,” she continued, letting out a small laugh.
“You miss him too,” he said softly.
It wasn’t fair keeping her there. She was young and had a life to live. So far there had been no signs of her having any romantic interest in him, and somehow he found that disappointing and not merely because of the curse. Despite himself, he had begun to enjoy their daily work in the library as well as just being in her company.
She shrugged.
“I wish I could ask him things about this curse of yours, but I know I’ll see him again and he’ll give me hell for not calling him here,” she answered, chuckling.
“Sounds like him.”
“Where have you been lately? Molly said you were ill.”
“I- I was. It was quite a bad flu, and I didn’t want to infect you.”
“Well, you do look a bit peaky and like you should eat more. Good to see you’re on the mend though, I’ve missed having someone to look through the books with me,” she said casually, and his heart skipped a beat.
How had he ever thought this was going to work out? That she would fall for him but he would feel nothing? She was everything he could have wanted in a woman: brave, clever, interested in what he did, and capable of making him laugh. With her he felt lighter than in years.
However, at the end of the day it was all a mirage. He was a werewolf, which she didn't know, and was using her to help himself and his friends, which she didn't know either. His kind didn't- couldn't- marry or have children, so pursuing a relationship with her just to get her to admit she loved him would be cruel. There was no future for them together. How could he betray her? But how could he fail his friends either?
***
Once Tonks had returned to her room, she felt like she had managed to find at least one formerly missing puzzle piece: Remus was a werewolf. He had never actually shown her what he looked like when he left the house, but he had admitted to being the wolf her dad had seen. His appearance tonight, as well as his disappearance during and after the full moon told her all she needed to know.
She had known from the start that there was something peculiar about him. After all, such a smart and powerful wizard should have had a steady job.
Remus would have been a great teacher, but she suspected lycanthropy scared any potential employers. Her heart ached for him, he didn't deserve any of this. He could have even been a great Auror, but his prospects had been taken away from him. Not for the first time in her life her blood boiled over the idiocy of people. Wizards were no better than Muggles when it came to prejudice.
Recently she had also begun to think of Remus as more than just someone in need of her help. She considered them friends by now, but there was something more there too. She knew you weren’t supposed to get involved with people you were trying to help, but she had to admit to herself that she was interested in him as more than a friend. He wasn’t like any of the men she’d gone out with, but he was kind, funny, smart, brave and respectful. In other words, exactly what she liked in a man. Sure, he was older than her, but why did that have to matter?
Maybe once the curse was broken she could tell him how she felt, but for now she would have to try to focus on the problem at hand.
***
They should have turned in for the night a long time ago, but Tonks had insisted on continuing. She was convinced that they were close to a breakthrough with a book on historical curses that involved involuntary transfiguration. It had been nearly a month since his last transformation, and the regular pre-transformation weariness had begun to take over him, but he’d stayed with her in an attempt not to look suspicious. Him falling ill once again would be certain to make her suspect something more was going on with him. He had started to lose hope that she’d be able to break the curse, as their deadline was looming merely a few days away.
Her dedication and quick mind were nothing short of incredible, and he'd found himself just watching her more and more often as the weeks passed by. Like right now, when she was sitting on the desk, leaning over the book, a finger flying on the faded letters.
A strand of pink hair fell from her ponytail, landing on her cheek. Before he even realised what he was doing, he had brushed it back behind her ear. Her concentration broke, and suddenly her eyes were on his.
"Remus," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
A heavy weight settled into the pit of his stomach, but it wasn't a bad weight. It was anticipation and desire. Her gaze moved onto his mouth, and somehow he knew what she wanted, what they both wanted.
He closed the distance between them and allowed his lips to find hers. Her hands tangled in his hair, while one of his found a place on her back and the other one traveled further down her side, onto her hip, and then her thigh.
Leaning further into her, she let him push her back closer to the desk, until he was almost hovering over her. His hand found a patch of bare skin through her ripped jeans, making her moan against his mouth.
It was the sound that made him realise what he was doing. This was insanity. He pulled away from her so suddenly that she nearly hit her head on the desk.
"I'm sorry... This was a mistake. I need to go," he mumbled, staggering away from her and out of the library. He needed to get as far away as possible.
***
The next day Remus no longer showed up to the library, leaving her to go through the books on her own. Thinking about their kiss still made her feel light-headed. Why had he run? After all, he’d been the one to initiate it and seemed to enjoy it as much as she did.
She sighed. Men had never been on the top of her priority list, and now she was dealing with a very difficult one. The good thing was that he would eventually have to talk to her, the house wasn’t big enough for them both to live in and never see each other.
Deciding to confront Remus later, she focused on the book in her lap.
Curses involving involuntary transformation of humans into animals or inanimate objects are often extremely complicated to break. They can usually be maintained only for a certain period of time at first, and only after this time has elapsed does the curse turn permanent. During this initial time period, breaking the curse is possible but there is no general counter curse. Each curse is unique and must be treated as such. In order to break the curse, knowing the witch or wizard who cast the curse and their beliefs and motivations is vital.
Well, this is rather unhelpful, she thought. The only thing she knew about the person who had cast the curse was that he or she apparently worked at the Ministry. She could think of a few people capable of this kind of evil who she’d unfortunately been forced to work with, but accusing people just because you didn’t happen to like them was not professional and sometimes unpleasant people were just that, and nothing more.
There had to be some way to find out more about the caster, but that wasn’t going to happen unless Remus decided to start speaking to her again. Meanwhile, she determined it was time to see her father and make sure Mad-Eye had stayed happy enough not to barge in through Remus’s door with the entire Auror Department in tow.
***
Tonks hadn't shown up to work in nearly two months. Old Moody kept on claiming she was away on a mission and being supervised by him, but Dawlish didn't buy it. The old man was lying, but he hadn't yet figured out why.
He had tried prying the truth out of Dora's father, insisting he was just concerned as a colleague and someone who cared a great deal for her, but he had pretended not to know anything. To his great surprise, he saw her heading for her father's house late one afternoon just as he was walking to the pub to meet with Pete. Instead of confronting her directly, he fetched Pete from the pub and set out to wait for her to come out again. He would find out where she was going.
He was lucky, and it took less than an hour until she emerged from the house. Pressing himself further into the shadows between her father's house and the one next to it, he watched as she looked around before setting out. She walked briskly into the forest, clearly knowing where she was going.
Dolores Umbridge had told him to keep an eye for anything unusual in the forest, but he'd only seen a black dog a few times. He began to think that perhaps Umbridge hadn't told him everything.
As quietly as possible, Pete and he followed her through the trees. She must have at least suspected that someone was following her, as she zigzagged quite a bit. Nevertheless, she didn't have his tracking skills, and they had little difficulty trailing her. Eventually she reached a clearing with a house on it.
The house was alight, and under the porch light he could see the familiar black dog, as well as an unremarkable man clad in a shabby jumper. He saw Dora smile at the man and rub the dog behind its ears and felt his hands curling into fists. This was supposed to be a mission?
Just then he noticed that Pete was shaking beside him. He frowned.
"Do you know that man, Pete?" He whispered.
Pete's teeth chattered.
"He's- he's a werewolf! And the dog is Sirius Black!"
"Sirius Black? What are you talking about?"
"He's an Animagus, John!"
"How do you know that?"
"I- I heard that from a friend who went to Hogwarts with them," stuttered Pete.
"And what is that werewolf's name?"
"Remus Lupin."
Umbridge would be thrilled to hear he'd found Sirius Black, and if she decided to sentence Remus Lupin to Azkaban too, all the better for him. The memory of Dora smiling at the werewolf made his stomach turn. She had never smiled at him like that, although he was actually worthy of it, unlike this beast.
"Let's go home," he told Pete, who seemed eager to get away from the house.
***
Despite greeting her the night before, Remus had stayed in his room for the entire morning the next day as well, and she was getting sick of him avoiding her. At least she had been able to tell him that she’d been followed, but he no longer seemed interested in helping her with the curse. Git.
If he wasn’t going to help her, she’d have to sort this out all on her own, and that included going into the basement. Locating the trapdoor in the living room floor was easy enough once she moved all the furniture closer to the walls.
“Tonks, dear, you shouldn’t go in there,” said Molly, sounding concerned.
“I know, Molly, but I have to. Remus says it’s not important for me to know what’s in there in order to break the curse, but maybe he’s wrong.”
“I think he’s right.”
“Well, I’m going in anyway,” she said. Her frustration over Remus’s recent behavior made her even more determined to see what secrets the basement possibly held.
Yanking the carpet aside, she pointed her wand at the hatch.
“Alohomora!”
Continue Reading (Parts III & IV)
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Author/Artist:
Characters: Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Ted Tonks, Sirius Black, Molly Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Mad-Eye Moody, Peter Pettigrew
Prompt number: 7
Word Count: 15,177
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mild sexual content, violence and cursing
Summary: After her father meets a strange wolf in the forest, Auror Nymphadora Tonks decides to investigate, and ends up getting far more than she bargained for.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Harry Potter characters or the original story of The Beauty and the Beast. I’m just borrowing them for my (and your) amusement and not making any money out of this! No copyright infringement is intended.
Author’s Notes: This is the longest fic I’ve ever written! And a huge thanks to my beta, you know who you are :)
Part I
Remus had always hated Divination as a school subject, and of course their best hope of breaking the curse cast upon him and his friends required the use of a crystal ball. Sighing, he took a look at the foggy image now showing up in the sphere. A plump, kind-looking man sitting at a kitchen table, reading a letter from his daughter. Somehow the man looked familiar, but he couldn’t place where they might have met.
He didn’t pay much attention to the words on the parchment, but beside the letter lay a photograph of a young woman. Her pink hair certainly caught his attention, but what truly got his heart pounding was the fact that she was wearing Auror’s robes. Not that he thought there was much of a chance of anyobody breaking the curse, but at least an Auror would probably be less frightened than the other women he’d encountered in the last five years. Sirius woke up from his slumber in the corner of the room and placed his paws on the small table. Padfoot’s tail began to wag at the sight of the girl, and he let out an excited bark.
That’s my cousin’s daughter! And She’s perfect, an Auror won’t chicken out like the other ones did!
“I know.” murmured Remus, although he was not nearly as optimistic as Sirius. Nevertheless, he had to try. His friends deserved to be free.
“Wait, what do you mean that she’s your cousin’s daughter?”
Yeah, remember Andromeda? She was disowned by the family and married that Muggle-born you’re looking at.
“Right, now I remember.” And he did. Andromeda and Sirius had been quite friendly when they were all younger, and her decision to rebel against the noble house of Black had effectively made her Sirius’s favourite relative.
Sirius barked again when the crystal ball showed Ted Tonks leave his house and head out of the village, towards them.
Let’s go and get him, Remus, then we can make him call his daughter here.
“I don’t want to kidnap anyone, Sirius! How many times do I have to tell you that? It hasn’t worked before, and it won’t work now!” Raved Remus, directing his attention on his canine companion.
The large, scruffy mutt whined and barked in answer.
A woman needs to fall for you, and we’re almost out of time, Moony. It’s been nearly five years since I’ve been able to talk to anyone else but you, do you have any idea how that feels? If this fails, I’ll be a dog for the rest of my life!
“Yes, I am aware that we need a woman here to break the curse. And yes, I am aware of how little time we have left. Nevertheless, I would still prefer not resorting to kidnapping. If you want this woman to take a liking to me, I don’t think scaring her is the way to go. You remember that redhead you dragged in two years ago? She was too scared to speak, so we never even found out her name! Or that innkeeper’s daughter, remember her? She locked herself into her room and smacked you with a candlestick when you stuck your head inside.”
Another bark followed, and the dog cocked its head. Yeah, yeah… How about we scare the man, make sure he realises you’re not a regular wolf, and then trust that the girl’s curious enough to come and investigate? And if that doesn’t work, then we can try the kidnapping again.
Remus swallowed. He wasn’t all that fond of Sirius’s new suggestion either, but it was better than kidnapping an innocent man, and then his daughter. It might work in this particular case, but it was still a risky plan. He let out a sigh.
“Fine, Padfoot, you win. We’ll do it. Today.”
***
Ted Tonks’s day was shaping up to be a good one. His beloved daughter, Dora, would be in soon for her weekly dinner with her parents. As much as he loved the quiet nights alone with a book or a nice Muggle TV show, Dora’s visits were the highlights of his weeks. Bright, quick-witted and funny, Dora’s stories of her adventures with the other Aurors offered Ted an endless source of entertainment. His late wife would have been worried about her safety, but he knew what Dora was made of.
Whistling a nameless tune he’d heard on the wireless earlier that day, he strolled through the forest after picking a basketful of blueberries. The work had left him slightly out of breath and his back ached, but the berries would make for a lovely dessert. He wasn’t much of a cook, and neither was Dora, but his household spells were just enough to whip up some cream to go with the fresh blueberries.
Consumed by his thoughts of the lovely roast he had waiting for them at home; it took him too long to notice that the forest around him had gone entirely quiet. It was as if even the air had stopped moving. He stopped to look around, dread slowly filling him and making his legs feel like jelly. There was something out there. Slowly, he set the basket on the ground and dug out his wand. He had heard of strange things happening in this forest, but had never seen anything with his own eyes, and even the stories he’d heard were vague.
The leaves of a nearby bush began to rustle. Ted swallowed. He preferred facing any beasts head on, as he knew that he was too slow to escape anything by running.
A large, black dog came out of the bush and stopped to stand right in front of Ted. It turned its dark eyes on him and revealed its sharp teeth.
“Stu- stupe-“ stuttered Ted, trying to back away from the dog, but the animal jumped at him before he managed to get the spell out.
Ted shoved at the dog in vain and tried to stick his wand into its eye, but it dodged and growled at him. Its saliva spilled onto Ted’s cloak. Why hadn’t it already sunk its teeth into his throat?
It was only then that he took notice of a new sound. There was another animal here. Turning his head, he caught glimpse of a larger canine form between the trees next to the path he was currently lying on. This one was no dog, and it was staring straight back at him.
Ted’s first thought was that the dog had simply been waiting for his friend before eating him. Maybe the wolf was the leader of the pack, and would get to eat his fill first. However, the wolf made no move to advance on him. After staring at Ted for a time that felt like minutes at the very least, the wolf turned its back on him and whined, showing its tufted tail in the process. The dog, whose front paws were still pinning Ted to the ground, barked in response to the whine and the pressure on Ted’s chest eased. Before he had a chance to catch his breath properly, he was alone again. The animals had left just as swiftly as they’d initially shown up. With a shaky hand, he reached for his basket, and continued his way home as fast as his feet could carry him.
***
Nymphadora Tonks was surprised not to find her father at his house. He’d known she was coming for dinner and should have been home by now. There were no traces of struggle or dark magic, but she was unable to stay put and wait, so she headed out to look for him.
The village main street was mostly empty, but naturally the only people around were her least favourite colleague and his sidekick Pete. Sighing, she prepared herself for the encounter. She didn’t know which one of them she disliked more; Dawlish, his leering and continued demands that she date him or his short squeaky-voiced companion who always managed to make her skin crawl when she felt his eyes on her.
“Dora, there you are! I was just on my way to the pub, care to join? I’ll buy you a drink,” cooed Dawlish. How many times would she have to reject him until he took a hint?
“No, thanks, Dawlish. And I know it’s useless, but I’m going to say this once more: stop calling me that.”
“I can’t call such a pretty girl by her last name! Especially if you still won’t call me John!” He flirted, eliciting a snort from her.
“Then don’t call me anything at all!” She yelled, rolling her eyes.
“Come on, Dora, loosen up a bit.”
“We’re not in the office now, and I happen to be busy,” she replied, taking off on a jog toward the other end of the village.
No matter where she went, there was no sign of her father. Deciding to return to his house, she took a detour to avoid Dawlish and Pete.
She reached her father’s house, but before she had time to go inside, she saw a familiar figure hunched on the street a few houses away.
“Dad?”
“Dora,” her father panted.
”Dad, what happened to you?” She asked. His face was red and he was so out of breath he could barely get out a word. Supporting him, she managed to get him into his house and seated on the sofa.
He took a deep breath and tried to say something, but instead broke into a cough.
“I’ll get you some water,” she said, summoning a glass and water from the kitchen. Half of it spilled onto the floor on the way, but half a glass was still better than nothing.
Ted downed the water and the coughs subsided.
“I was attacked,” he croaked, grasping his daughter's arms.
“What? Where? By whom?”
“In the forest. There was a dog, and a wolf. Or at least I think it was a wolf. There was something odd about that wolf though…”
“Start at the beginning, Dad,” she coaxed, sinking onto the sofa next to her father. Dinner would have to wait.
***
“Was there anything else about the wolf that seemed strange to you?” She asked, after listening to her father’s story in its entirety.
“Other than that it had blue eyes and instead of attacking me, it just stared?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not sure, love. You know I’m hardly an expert when it comes to animals. What do you think it is?”
She shrugged.
“It could be an Animagus, I suppose. Either way, scaring people like that is not all right. I’m going to go out there and see if I can find out more.”
“Dora, are you sure it’s a good idea? It’s getting dark outside…”
“I can handle this, Dad, you know that. I’ll be back before you know it,” she reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze.
“What if you’re not? When should I alert the Ministry?”
She hesitated.
“If I don’t come back, talk to Mad-Eye in the morning. But I will be back tonight, Dad.”
She knew what some of the villagers thought about her father; that he was an odd Muggle-born widower with an even odder daughter. Nevertheless, she trusted his judgment enough to know that there was reason to investigate. Glad she’d brought her winter cloak, she stepped out of her childhood home and closed the door behind her.
As she began making her way toward the forest, she briefly wondered if she was making a mistake in not alerting Mad-Eye. It just seemed silly to call upon her mentor every time something even slightly suspicious took place. She could handle the initial recon herself, and then talk to him if further action was needed. Eventually she’d have to learn to work on her own anyway and to rely on her own judgment, so she might as well start tonight.
***
The part of the forest where her father had encountered the two animals was thick, and barely any light seeped in through the trees. She didn’t particularly like using the light on her wand, but it was better than walking around blind and possibly tripping on something and falling, which was not an unlikely outcome for her.
She reached the spot where her father had been attacked, the underbrush was still flattened where her father had fallen. It was difficult to find any animal prints in the thick vegetation and the darkness, but she did manage to find two sets of paw prints. The smaller ones definitely belonged to a dog, but the larger ones… They were wolfish, yes, but something about them made the hairs in the back of her neck rise. If she didn’t know better, she’d have said they were werewolf prints. But it wasn’t even close to full moon, it just made no sense…
Following the prints into the trees, she felt the familiar signs of excitement take over her instincts; every single sound in the forest was magnified. If it really was a werewolf, why hadn’t it attacked her father?
She heard the hoot of an owl, the scurrying of mice and even managed to scare off a red fox, but there was no sign of a dog or anything else. Just as she was starting to considering turning back, she reached a clearing, and in the middle sat a house. It wasn’t large, and it looked old and in need of maintenance, but there was light in the first floor windows. Someone was living there.
So strange. She’d heard plenty of stories about her home village and forests surrounding it, but never anything about people living in the middle of it. Staying in the shadow of the treeline, she considered her options. She could go back to her father and come back tomorrow, or she could knock on the door and question the people in the house. Maybe they knew something about the dog and the strange wolf. Or maybe they were in that house…
As if it had heard her thoughts, the front door opened and a large, black dog stepped out.
***
Remus wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it certainly hadn’t been this. The young woman they’d wanted to lure to the house practically barged inside with her wand drawn out and tripped on the umbrella stand, ending up on the floor.
“Do you need help?” He enquired, offering her a hand.
She eyed him with distrust, but then took his hand anyway.
“That was quite an entrance,” he said, trying to calm his nerves. Her eyes were busy scanning her surroundings, and he couldn’t help noticing that her chestnut brown hair was full of leaves from the forest.
She sighed.
“Let’s start from the beginning. I’m Nymphadora Tonks, and I’m looking for a dog and a wolf that attacked my father earlier today,” she said, truly facing him for the first time.
“Nice to meet you, Nymphadora-“
“Just Tonks, please.”
“Tonks, then. I’m Remus Lupin, and the dog in the corner is Padfoot,” he answered, pointing at Sirius, who had placed himself between the door and the woman.
“I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but I have to ask: Is he your dog?” She asked.
Sirius scoffed. She’s rather rude, you know. The two of you should get along splendidly.
“He’s nobody’s dog,” Remus replied, trying not to chuckle.
“Does he have a wolf friend?”
He hesitated. Surely an Auror would not be as horrified as most people, but considering what was at stake and what successfully breaking the curse required, he wasn’t sure if telling her the truth about his condition was a good idea at this point.
“Well, there are wolves in the area, although I’ve never seen any myself.”
He watched as her brown eyes narrowed. She didn’t believe him.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you any further, but please stay for tea.”
“I shouldn’t, my father’s expecting me.”
He wondered if he’d be able to explain himself to her, and took a deep breath. This was the first time he’d even made it this far.
“If you follow me to the kitchen, I think you’ll find something that’ll interest you as an Auror,” he blurted out, relieved when he managed to get it out. Perhaps he could tell her about about the curse if he was vague enough.
***
This was a strange house, and Remus Lupin was a strange man. However, she was hardly defenseless and if he was being honest with her, there was no way she’d be able to resist a good mystery.
“All right then. But I must get back straight after tea,” she heard herself reply.
She followed him into a well-lit kitchen. At first glance nothing seemed out of place and she was about to turn on her heels until she heard a new voice.
“Evening, dear! How lovely to meet you, we don’t get many guests here, I’m afraid.”
She turned towards the voice, her wand still at the ready, and was surprised to find she was staring at a teapot.
“What is this?” She hissed, turning back to Remus.
“This is Molly,” he answered, motioning to the teapot.
“Yes, dear. I’m Molly Weasley,” it said, and now she saw that it had eyes. Had Remus done this to her? So far he seemed to be the only one in the house capable of handling a wand. Cursing herself, she wished she’d talked to Mad-Eye. This was more serious than she’d thought.
“I’m Nymphadora Tonks,” she mumbled in response.
“Please have a seat, I’ll have tea for you in just a minute. Would you like some biscuits as well?”
“Errr, no thanks. Are you, Remus and Padfoot the only ones here?” She asked, wondering how many other people here had been turned into inanimate objects.
“Most of my family’s here, dear. You’ll find them in the living room.”
Family. Children. Was the dog a human too? She’d seen enough. Raising her wand, she directed it at Remus.
“You can try to change them back if you’d like to, but you’ll find that your spells don’t work on them,” he said, raising his hands in surrender.
“Did you do this?” She asked, still refusing to lower her wand. He didn’t seem like a lunatic, but then again, not all dark wizards seemed dangerous.
“Merlin, no,” he sighed.
“Then who was it?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Literally can’t.”
“This place is cursed,” she said, more to herself than him. Whatever curse she was up against, it was powerful, probably more powerful than any curse she’d come across in her career before. Mad-Eye would have to be alerted immediately.
Part II
“I’ll help you, but I can’t do it on my own. We have curse breakers at the Ministry who’ll know what to do.”
The dog growled, and Remus shook his head insistently.
“The Ministry can’t get involved.”
“Why?”
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I could tell you.”
“You’re claiming this was done by someone at the Ministry?”
Remus opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out.
“Right. Sorry. But I still need to tell the Ministry something, if I’m not going to be showing up to work tomorrow morning. They’ll come looking for me otherwise.”
“Yes, I guess you must. But please, don’t tell them too much.”
“I’ll just talk to my mentor and make sure my dad doesn’t worry. I could use your fireplace-”
“We’re not collected to the Floo Network. You’ll have to go back to village. Padfoot will accompany you.”
“Or you could just trust me. I am coming back, you know.”
Remus smiled despite himself.
“Do you trust me, Tonks?”
“That’s different!”
“No, it’s not. Padfoot will make sure get things sorted. Good night, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Without another word to her, Remus walked out of the kitchen.
***
"Why are you sending the dog with me? Can't you come yourself?"she asked, following him out of the room. He had reached a set of stairs leading to the 2nd floor and started climbing.
"No, I can't," he replied without turning back to look at her.
"What happens if you leave the house?" she continued, ignoring his dismissal.
"I'll tell you tomorrow!"
The slam of a door upstairs told her that as far as he was concerned, they were done for the night.
"And what are you even supposed to do if I refuse to go back?" she asked the dog as he jogged beside her on the road to the village.
Padfoot replied by barking, but of course she had no idea what he was saying. The barks sounded an awful lot like laughter though, but she was probably imagining it. Meeting Molly had left her paranoid.
All the lights were still on when she reached her father's house.
"Stay hidden, or you'll scare him!" she hissed to Padfoot, who settled into a shadowy corner on the porch, growling softly.
"Dad? Are you still awake?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
"Dora, thank Merlin! Are you all right?" he asked, wrapping her into a tight embrace.
"Yeah, everything's all right, but I found something that I need to look into."
"For work?"
"Yeah. I'm going back there as soon as I've owled Mad-Eye. Is it alright if I borrow Mouse?" she asked, already looking around the kitchen for their old barn owl.
"Of course, love! But do you really have to go back tonight?"
"I really do, this case is urgent."
"When will you be back?"
She hesitated.
"I'm not sure, it might be a while, but don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise," she replied, flashing him a smile that she hoped looked more confident than she was feeling.
Her father didn't look entirely convinced, but he said nothing. He had always supported her career choices and had faith in her abilities. She could only hope he would trust her this time as well.
After sending Mouse on her way with her message and packing some spare clothes, she hugged her father once more. She really no idea how long this would take and if she would even be able to contact him anytime soon.
"Be safe, Dora, please," pleaded her father, refusing to let go of her.
"I will. I'll write you as soon as I can," she promised, disentangling herself from his grip.
Padfoot was still waiting for her when she left the house.
"Right. Let's go then," she said quietly.
Her father was an adult and by now used to living alone, but they were close and she would miss him. Apparently noticing her sour mood, Padfoot nuzzled her hand with his nose and gave it a single lick. She smiled.
"Thanks, boy," she said, patting the dog's head.
***
Remus's bones creaked as he rose from bed the next morning. Although the transformations outside the full moon didn't take as big of a toll on his body as his regular ones, he was still sore and irritated. He would stay in the house or on the porch from now on as much as he possibly could.
Just then he fully remembered the events of the previous day. Nymphadora Tonks. His guts twisted painfully when he thought about what he'd have to do to set his friends free. Fooling an innocent woman felt wrong, and why would she even fall for him in the first place?
As he approached the kitchen, it became clear to him that everyone had met her by now. The laughter emanating from the room was something he hadn't heard from his friends in years. As he entered the room, Tonks was sitting at the table, nursing a large cup of tea, surrounded by the Weasley children.
Ron and Ginny, forced into the form of teacups, were on the table, as was Percy, as a tableclock, listening closely to Tonks's story about her first day as an Auror. The twins, as footstools, were on the floor, while Bill, the grandfather-clock, stood in the corner, speaking to his girlfriend Fleur, a wardrobe. Molly was next to the stove, as usual, helped by Arthur, as a candlestick. Sirius was sitting on the floor next to Tonks, wagging his tail and clearly hoping a piece of her toast would find its way into his mouth.
"Morning, Remus!" called Arthur.
"Morning," he murmured back.
You should show her around the house, said Sirius.
"Fine, fine," Remus muttered, clearing his throat.
"I could show you around the house after breakfast. Not that there's much to see, but anyway."
"Sure! I'll be finished soon."
The tour of the house wasn’t exactly a long affair, as the building consisted of only three bedrooms, the kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, a library and a basement. Remus hadn’t even been planning on showing her where the entrance to the basement was located, but there wasn’t much else he could do when she tripped on the handle of the trapdoor under the living room rug.
“Ugh! What’s in there?” she asked, pushing herself to her feet.
“That’s the entrance to the basement. I ask you not to go there,” he replied, preparing himself for the questions he knew would ensue. Nymphadora Tonks didn’t strike him as someone who left stones unturned. This one would have to stay that way, however.
"Why?"
Remus hesitated.
"It's a private matter."
She frowned at him.
"You know, I don't like it when people try to make my job more difficult," she answered, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
"There's nothing down there for you to see. You won't break the curse by going in there,” he insisted, mentally reminding himself to strengthen the wards on the trapdoor. But would even that help if she decided to go in?
“Fine, I’ll let it go. For now,” she muttered in reply. She didn't seem entirely happy with the excuse he’d provided her with, but it was all he had to give.
“How about we take a look at the library?” he suggested, deciding that redirecting her thoughts away from the basement would be the best course of action.
“Sure. You wouldn’t happen to have any books that might help me break the curse?” she asked, half joking.
“I guess we should have a look,” he replied, striding past her to open the door to the library.
"Hold on a second, I'll be right there," Tonks said, stopping in front of a mirror.
He watched as she scrunched up her face and suddenly her brown hair turned into the vivid pink he'd seen in the photograph.
"Impressive. I assume you are a Metamorphagus then?"
She turned to him, grinning proudly, her brown eyes twinkling.
"Yeah, I am. No idea where I got the powers from, but it is genetic."
"That must come very handy as an Auror."
She nodded.
"It does. Concealment has always been my specialty."
He couldn't help but be impressed by her. Metamorphagi were rare, but her talents reminded him that not all shape-shifting had anything to do with dark magic.
"Let's see about that library, then!" she blurted, striding past him.
Remus smiled at her enthusiasm, although he knew it was mostly brought on by her motivation to break the curse. His library just was hardly something all that many people were interested in, no matter what their motives were. He had rarely had the opportunity to show his and his father's collection to anyone, and even more seldom had he been able to show it to someone who would probably be able to appreciate it.
***
"You've got quite the collection here," she said, genuinely impressed. As far as the Dark Arts were considered, the Hogwarts library had nothing on this room. There were dozens and dozens of volumes on curses, counter curses, and dark creatures.
She had always been more into learning things on the fly rather than by reading, but who could resist books like these?
"Most of them belonged to my father," he replied.
"What did he do for a living?"
"He studied dark creatures. It was his life's work."
"And you're taking after him?"
"It's more of a hobby than a profession for me, but perhaps you could say that."
"Can I read these? I mean, maybe there's something here that can help me find out more about your curse. The things you can't tell me yourself."
"Feel free to browse here as you wish. Like I said, you can go anywhere in this house, except for the basement."
"And I still don't understand why that is."
"And I still can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?"
"Let's have a look at these books then, shall we?"
"Don't change the subject."
"All right. Would it satisfy you if told you that there's nothing in that cellar that could help you break the curse?"
He seemed sincere enough, but there was no chance of her forgetting about the forbidden room underneath their feet. She didn’t quite trust him enough to believe that there was nothing of interest to her down there.
"You said that already, and I can't make any promises."
***
Over the next week, the two of them spent most of their time in the library, poring over one book after another. She learned that Remus's knowledge of the Dark Arts was impressive and couldn’t get enough of his stories of encountering the creatures she'd only read about in books or perhaps faced in a controlled environment.
"You'd make a fine Auror, you know," she told him one chilly afternoon, as they were enjoying tea over a large volume on Inferi.
He let out a snort, and she felt her cheeks redden from the embarrassment. He must think her insensitive, this man had been confined to this house for years after all, and unless she broke the curse, he would not get to work anywhere again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that you know so much about all this, far more than most of the people I work with."
He shook his head.
"No offense taken. Nevertheless, I find it hard to believe that your colleagues are less knowledgeable than I am."
"If you only knew..." she trailed off. People like Dawlish were perhaps smart and physically capable but had no desire to learn anything new and lacked the ability to adapt into surprising situations. She had had the misfortune of working with him on a few missions and the man had had the guts to try and take all the credit for their arrests, claiming he’d pulled off some risky move, when in fact he’d been huddling behind something, sending a half-aimed spell at the enemy every now and then, while she’d been moving around and sometimes actually pulling the kind of risky moves Dawlish could only dream of. The Ministry would be lucky to have someone like Remus on their payroll.
***
The days passed surprisingly fast in the house. Tonks used most of her time in the library with Remus, and when she got sick of being cooped up inside, she’d throw sticks to Padfoot in the clearing. Remus had been largely absent for the last few days, but Molly had assured her that he was simply feeling under the weather and that she shouldn’t worry.
It had been five weeks now since she’d last seen her dad, and she felt nowhere closer to breaking the curse than she’d been that very first day. No matter how many times she went through all the notes she’d made on the house and its inhabitants, she felt like she was still missing the most important pieces of the puzzle.
The clock on her nightstand showed that it was after three o’clock in the morning, and she hadn’t slept a wink. Hoping a cup of chamomile tea would help, she set out to the kitchen.
She hadn't expected anyone to be awake at this hour, so she was surprised to hear the clanking of dishes from the kitchen as she descended the stairs.
Remus was standing at the stove, with his back turned to her, stirring something that smelled very
much like hot cocoa to her.
"Wotcher," she greeted.
"Hello."
"Couldn't sleep either?"
"I operate on very little sleep these days."
"I usually sleep well, but this curse is keeping me awake."
Remus sighed.
"I truly wish I could tell you more."
"I know."
"Would you like something to drink?"
"What are you having?"
"Cocoa."
"I'll have the same."
He poured the cocoa into two large mugs and set one in front of her on the table, taking a seat across from her.
***
"I'm sorry you've had to stay here for so long... I know you must miss your family and friends."
"Well, this is my job, so no apologising. You need help, and I'm not leaving until I've broken the curse."
"Where does the Ministry think you are?"
"I asked my mentor to cover for me, to tell the office that he'd sent me out on an assignment. He's a little eccentric but also the best Auror I've ever met and they don't really want to cross him there," she replied, smirking.
Remus frowned.
"Who's your mentor, if I may ask?"
"Mad-, erm, Alastor Moody."
"I thought he retired years ago!"
"You know him?"
"We worked together during the war against Voldemort."
"I had no idea! He was supposed to retire but changed his mind, and you can probably figure that there's no putting Mad-Eye on retirement unless he agrees."
Remus nodded, smiling back at her. He hadn't expected her to be Moody's protégée. Considering that the old Auror was extremely paranoid and picky about who he agreed to teach, if Tonks had managed to convince him, she must truly be quite talented even for an Auror.
“I’m sure he showed up to see my dad and to evaluate if I’d been somehow compelled to send him that letter, but I’d like to think he knows better than to think that,” she continued, letting out a small laugh.
“You miss him too,” he said softly.
It wasn’t fair keeping her there. She was young and had a life to live. So far there had been no signs of her having any romantic interest in him, and somehow he found that disappointing and not merely because of the curse. Despite himself, he had begun to enjoy their daily work in the library as well as just being in her company.
She shrugged.
“I wish I could ask him things about this curse of yours, but I know I’ll see him again and he’ll give me hell for not calling him here,” she answered, chuckling.
“Sounds like him.”
“Where have you been lately? Molly said you were ill.”
“I- I was. It was quite a bad flu, and I didn’t want to infect you.”
“Well, you do look a bit peaky and like you should eat more. Good to see you’re on the mend though, I’ve missed having someone to look through the books with me,” she said casually, and his heart skipped a beat.
How had he ever thought this was going to work out? That she would fall for him but he would feel nothing? She was everything he could have wanted in a woman: brave, clever, interested in what he did, and capable of making him laugh. With her he felt lighter than in years.
However, at the end of the day it was all a mirage. He was a werewolf, which she didn't know, and was using her to help himself and his friends, which she didn't know either. His kind didn't- couldn't- marry or have children, so pursuing a relationship with her just to get her to admit she loved him would be cruel. There was no future for them together. How could he betray her? But how could he fail his friends either?
***
Once Tonks had returned to her room, she felt like she had managed to find at least one formerly missing puzzle piece: Remus was a werewolf. He had never actually shown her what he looked like when he left the house, but he had admitted to being the wolf her dad had seen. His appearance tonight, as well as his disappearance during and after the full moon told her all she needed to know.
She had known from the start that there was something peculiar about him. After all, such a smart and powerful wizard should have had a steady job.
Remus would have been a great teacher, but she suspected lycanthropy scared any potential employers. Her heart ached for him, he didn't deserve any of this. He could have even been a great Auror, but his prospects had been taken away from him. Not for the first time in her life her blood boiled over the idiocy of people. Wizards were no better than Muggles when it came to prejudice.
Recently she had also begun to think of Remus as more than just someone in need of her help. She considered them friends by now, but there was something more there too. She knew you weren’t supposed to get involved with people you were trying to help, but she had to admit to herself that she was interested in him as more than a friend. He wasn’t like any of the men she’d gone out with, but he was kind, funny, smart, brave and respectful. In other words, exactly what she liked in a man. Sure, he was older than her, but why did that have to matter?
Maybe once the curse was broken she could tell him how she felt, but for now she would have to try to focus on the problem at hand.
***
They should have turned in for the night a long time ago, but Tonks had insisted on continuing. She was convinced that they were close to a breakthrough with a book on historical curses that involved involuntary transfiguration. It had been nearly a month since his last transformation, and the regular pre-transformation weariness had begun to take over him, but he’d stayed with her in an attempt not to look suspicious. Him falling ill once again would be certain to make her suspect something more was going on with him. He had started to lose hope that she’d be able to break the curse, as their deadline was looming merely a few days away.
Her dedication and quick mind were nothing short of incredible, and he'd found himself just watching her more and more often as the weeks passed by. Like right now, when she was sitting on the desk, leaning over the book, a finger flying on the faded letters.
A strand of pink hair fell from her ponytail, landing on her cheek. Before he even realised what he was doing, he had brushed it back behind her ear. Her concentration broke, and suddenly her eyes were on his.
"Remus," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
A heavy weight settled into the pit of his stomach, but it wasn't a bad weight. It was anticipation and desire. Her gaze moved onto his mouth, and somehow he knew what she wanted, what they both wanted.
He closed the distance between them and allowed his lips to find hers. Her hands tangled in his hair, while one of his found a place on her back and the other one traveled further down her side, onto her hip, and then her thigh.
Leaning further into her, she let him push her back closer to the desk, until he was almost hovering over her. His hand found a patch of bare skin through her ripped jeans, making her moan against his mouth.
It was the sound that made him realise what he was doing. This was insanity. He pulled away from her so suddenly that she nearly hit her head on the desk.
"I'm sorry... This was a mistake. I need to go," he mumbled, staggering away from her and out of the library. He needed to get as far away as possible.
***
The next day Remus no longer showed up to the library, leaving her to go through the books on her own. Thinking about their kiss still made her feel light-headed. Why had he run? After all, he’d been the one to initiate it and seemed to enjoy it as much as she did.
She sighed. Men had never been on the top of her priority list, and now she was dealing with a very difficult one. The good thing was that he would eventually have to talk to her, the house wasn’t big enough for them both to live in and never see each other.
Deciding to confront Remus later, she focused on the book in her lap.
Curses involving involuntary transformation of humans into animals or inanimate objects are often extremely complicated to break. They can usually be maintained only for a certain period of time at first, and only after this time has elapsed does the curse turn permanent. During this initial time period, breaking the curse is possible but there is no general counter curse. Each curse is unique and must be treated as such. In order to break the curse, knowing the witch or wizard who cast the curse and their beliefs and motivations is vital.
Well, this is rather unhelpful, she thought. The only thing she knew about the person who had cast the curse was that he or she apparently worked at the Ministry. She could think of a few people capable of this kind of evil who she’d unfortunately been forced to work with, but accusing people just because you didn’t happen to like them was not professional and sometimes unpleasant people were just that, and nothing more.
There had to be some way to find out more about the caster, but that wasn’t going to happen unless Remus decided to start speaking to her again. Meanwhile, she determined it was time to see her father and make sure Mad-Eye had stayed happy enough not to barge in through Remus’s door with the entire Auror Department in tow.
***
Tonks hadn't shown up to work in nearly two months. Old Moody kept on claiming she was away on a mission and being supervised by him, but Dawlish didn't buy it. The old man was lying, but he hadn't yet figured out why.
He had tried prying the truth out of Dora's father, insisting he was just concerned as a colleague and someone who cared a great deal for her, but he had pretended not to know anything. To his great surprise, he saw her heading for her father's house late one afternoon just as he was walking to the pub to meet with Pete. Instead of confronting her directly, he fetched Pete from the pub and set out to wait for her to come out again. He would find out where she was going.
He was lucky, and it took less than an hour until she emerged from the house. Pressing himself further into the shadows between her father's house and the one next to it, he watched as she looked around before setting out. She walked briskly into the forest, clearly knowing where she was going.
Dolores Umbridge had told him to keep an eye for anything unusual in the forest, but he'd only seen a black dog a few times. He began to think that perhaps Umbridge hadn't told him everything.
As quietly as possible, Pete and he followed her through the trees. She must have at least suspected that someone was following her, as she zigzagged quite a bit. Nevertheless, she didn't have his tracking skills, and they had little difficulty trailing her. Eventually she reached a clearing with a house on it.
The house was alight, and under the porch light he could see the familiar black dog, as well as an unremarkable man clad in a shabby jumper. He saw Dora smile at the man and rub the dog behind its ears and felt his hands curling into fists. This was supposed to be a mission?
Just then he noticed that Pete was shaking beside him. He frowned.
"Do you know that man, Pete?" He whispered.
Pete's teeth chattered.
"He's- he's a werewolf! And the dog is Sirius Black!"
"Sirius Black? What are you talking about?"
"He's an Animagus, John!"
"How do you know that?"
"I- I heard that from a friend who went to Hogwarts with them," stuttered Pete.
"And what is that werewolf's name?"
"Remus Lupin."
Umbridge would be thrilled to hear he'd found Sirius Black, and if she decided to sentence Remus Lupin to Azkaban too, all the better for him. The memory of Dora smiling at the werewolf made his stomach turn. She had never smiled at him like that, although he was actually worthy of it, unlike this beast.
"Let's go home," he told Pete, who seemed eager to get away from the house.
***
Despite greeting her the night before, Remus had stayed in his room for the entire morning the next day as well, and she was getting sick of him avoiding her. At least she had been able to tell him that she’d been followed, but he no longer seemed interested in helping her with the curse. Git.
If he wasn’t going to help her, she’d have to sort this out all on her own, and that included going into the basement. Locating the trapdoor in the living room floor was easy enough once she moved all the furniture closer to the walls.
“Tonks, dear, you shouldn’t go in there,” said Molly, sounding concerned.
“I know, Molly, but I have to. Remus says it’s not important for me to know what’s in there in order to break the curse, but maybe he’s wrong.”
“I think he’s right.”
“Well, I’m going in anyway,” she said. Her frustration over Remus’s recent behavior made her even more determined to see what secrets the basement possibly held.
Yanking the carpet aside, she pointed her wand at the hatch.
“Alohomora!”
Continue Reading (Parts III & IV)
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