Don't Stop

Don't Stop

By Dimgwrthien

It had taken weeks to get to that point, but Tonks finally managed to convince Remus.

Over that space of time, she tried almost every day to convince him of letting her sit the next full moon in with him. Because of the fact that 'Snape the Traitor' had left them all, and the fact that Remus no longer worked at Hogwarts, she knew that he did not have any Wolfsbane Potion to use during the full moon, and she had already seen him the night after, looking as though he had been to hell and back. During her arguments to make him see her way, she let slip phrases that she would have expected him to slap her after hearing, but he merely flinched and stared at the ground at those times. It was then that Tonks realized how secret of a thing it was to him.

When she argued with him during the fourth week of asking (it was the twenty-third day, really), with her hair back to shocking pink as it had not been for nearly a year, she eyed him the day before the full moon.

"Can I please just sit in with you?" she pleaded, abandoning all pretense.

"No," he answered sternly, not even looking up from his cup of tea and book. He was on the couch, sitting upright but slouching onto the arm. She was next to him, legs spread out, leaning on his arm. She had taken to haunting his house whenever she was off a duty. He never asked why or threw her out, but merely spoke to her as if he invited her every day.

"Please, Remus!" she said, grabbing the arm of his robes and frowning. "I won't even be in the same room as you. I'll just be here for you when it's over."

His tired face was hidden by the fall of his hair, which brushed lightly over his eyes. "Nymphadora, that would really be dangerous. You shouldn't do reckless things."

"You're the reckless one for doing this alone," she snapped back. She sat up and stared at his eyes. "Can I at least come back here when it's over to make sure you didn't hurt yourself."

"I'll be hurting myself whether to come back to check or not," he answered, a grim smile on his lips. "Don't worry yourself. I've been doing this long enough."

He looked up at the clock, frowning. "You should be going soon," he said, seeing that it was nearing six. "And just go about your normal day, alright? You can come the morning after tomorrow. But not tomorrow, at all." He gave her a stern look and stood up, craning his neck side to side and sighing. "All I need is time to heal, you understand that?"

She nodded and remained sitting there. He saw her and frowned even deeper. "Please, Nymphadora -"

"Tonks," she corrected him, grinning. "I'm not letting you slip on that one for much longer."

"I'll forcibly remove you, I hope you know," he answered, keeping his face straight. When she just sat there, he sighed and stared her down, moving his arms in his stretching. "Fine, you can stay. Just please, please don't do anything stupid. Stay out here and don't come in."

"Not even in the morning?" she asked.

"No," he answered, clearing his throat and crossing his arms. "Just give me time."

And with that, he walked into another room that Tonks had not noticed and shut the door. She heard a faint voice from behind it and was going to ask him what he said before she saw lights around the edge of the door, showing that he was using several spells.

He leaned back on the couch, playing with the sleeve of her robes and keeping silent. She heard his footsteps retreat from the door, and something dropping, maybe a robe. When the silence came from side of the door, she supposed he was waiting, too.

"You alright, Remus?" she called in a carrying voice.

"I'm fine," she heard him sigh and she could imagine his disapproving face. "As much as I love you, you really know how to get on my nerves."

"It's what I do to keep sanity around," she answered. She smiled to herself and glanced around at the room, taking in the windows and shabby furniture. There was not much to look at.

"What am I going to do tonight?" she asked him.

"Should have thought about that before you came," he called back through the door. "Feel free to leave. I would feel better if you did."

She remained in the room, though she did stand up to look out one of the windows for some time. When she saw the moon rise up over the horizon, she turned back to the door, where there had been silence from for a few minutes.

"Are you still alright?" she asked cautiously. There was no answer in voice, but instead, less than a second later, she heard a pained sound from the other side. There was a sound of a bone cracking, followed by a few more until the sounds of his breathing were louder than them.

Wide-eyed, Tonks put her hands to her mouth and felt herself shake. She wanted to get into the room, hold him, comfort him, anything to make the sounds go away. It continued for less than five minutes, and by the time it was done, she heard the sound of a low growl followed by loud sniffing as if it - he - were sniffing the doorway.

"Remus?" she asked, her own voice low and hoarse as she tried to get the image of what must have gone with the sounds out of her head. "What was - are you alright?"

She felt stupid asking the questions, even when she knew he was a wolf now and not Remus. For a while, she listened to the sounds of him sniffing the door and something splattering - she tried not to think about blood - and the sounds of his growls.

She opened her eyes and found herself on the couch. Waking up fully, she glanced outside at the moon, which was sinking quickly down on the other side of the house. The sun was already up and making a bright light fill the room.

She leaned against the door that he was in and paused, keeping her breathing low. There was the sound of sniffing again, though it was followed by the pad of feet before stopping. She braced herself for what she knew would happen next.

Through the wooden door, she heard a low howl, getting louder, but then cutting off very quickly with the sounds of bones shattering again. She closed her eyes and felt herself shaking again, still trying not to think about the horror he must be going through.

When everything was silent again, she called out his name and waited. No answer. Turning the doorknob, she found that opened easily. She figured the charms he used caused the door to only open from the outside, something that she knew of parents using with their children. That must have meant he knew she would enter.

The floor was covered in a dark liquid, puddles of it staining everything. While it was still wet, she took out her wand and waved it, muttering, "Scourgify." Some of the blood cleaned itself, leaving more of the floor exposed. She glanced up again, seeing the pale figure in the back of the room.

Remus was lying on his stomach, face turned out towards her and she saw more blood on his face. Bending down as fast as possible, she turned his body onto its side and glanced down it. There was deep gashes on his torso and arms with his face coated in so much blood, she could barely make out his deathly pale skin. She took the sleeve of her robe and wiped it on his face, leaving onto a faint trace of the blood. With her wand out again, she whispered, "Mobilicorpus." His body rose a few inches and she guided him out of the room and into his room. She placed his body of the bed and stared down at it, trying to think what to do first. She placed a wand to one of the deepest cuts and waved her wand, hoping it would close. When nothing happened, she let out a low growl of frustration and looked around as though expecting the answer to come out of the walls.

She pocketed her wand again, brow furrowed in thought, when she remembered the attack on Bill by Fenrir. They used some cream.... She walked into the bathroom and pulled open the cupboard, seeing several potions and creams. Glancing at their name, she grabbed several, hoping one of them was right.

She opened the first one, seeing a white liquid that hardened somewhat when she touched it, turning into a cream consistency. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed it around the cut again, getting some of the blood to come off onto it. She dabbed at the cut and saw it harden all the way over it. It made a protective covering around the area she dabbed at, and she saw the cut start to repair itself before her very eyes. Tonks repeated this with as much skin as she could, then stopped, wiping her brow with the back of her hand and sitting down beside him. He had to of been unconscious for him not to wake up yet, and she decided to pull the covers up on him. He was still naked, she noticed, blushing crimson at the thought. She went to the wardrobe, pulling out a pair of trousers and a patched shirt, leaving them folded on his bed, within easy reach. She left the room then, leaving the door open so that she would know when he woke.

After several hours, she heard footsteps come into the main room here she was and stop. She turned around on her seat and saw Remus there, grabbing the wall for support.

“Wotcher,” she said joyfully, taking in his appearance with a long glance. Dark shadows painted his face, under his eyes and cheekbones. He was walking very gingerly as though trying not to induce more pain than necessary. Remus’ hands were more bony than the night before, she knew that, and he was slouching.

“Hello,” he said, eyeing her rather sternly as he made his way onto the opposite chair, leaning back and closing his eyes. “You shouldn’t have come in,” he said quietly.

Tonks shrugged and saw that his arms were already healing from the lotion. “I needed to make sure you were fine,” she answered. “Are you?”

He opened his eyes and glanced at her for a moment before staring at his hands. “Yes, I suppose.”

“It’s better to heal that when you transform back rather than waiting,” Tonks told him. He nodded slightly.

“True, but it still -”

“Was dangerous, I know,” she sighed. “You were human again and you were in pain. What would you have done?”

He did not answer her.

Tonks stood up rather quickly, sending the chair back a few inches. “Sorry,” she muttered, moving it back into place. “Breakfast then?”

She took care to walk right past him, kissing his cheek as she went. Leaning around the back of his chair, she placed her hands on his shoulders and started rubbing them, making gently circles on his back.

Remus sighed and leaned forward as though he liked it. She kept on going, down his spine and back up again, pausing on some parts where he really seemed to enjoy it. He was now with his chest pressed against his legs, eyes closed and breathing deeply as though asleep. She kept on going until he moved again, where she drew back and waited. He sat up again, looking slightly more comfortable than before.

“Thanks,” she heard him whisper. She shrugged and circled the chair, stopping in front of him.

“It doesn’t have to stop there,” she answered, leaning in, arms around his neck, kissing him.

Breakfast could wait.