Asinus Protego (5/5)

[godricgal]

Title: Asinus Protego (5/5 Complete!)
Author: godricgal
Rating and Warnings: R for sexual content
Prompts: Chance, "I've been able to see them ever since my first year here. They've always pulled the carriages. Don't worry. You're just as sane as I am."
Word Count: 6916 words
Summary: Just days after Dumbledore's funeral, when Remus and Tonks are working to rebuild their relationship in the wake of their reconciliation, an anonymous tip off, brushed off by the Ministry, piques Tonks' curiosity. Can she and Remus get to the bottom of the mystery before it's too late?
Author's Notes: I cannot believe how close I'm cutting this … I've been up all night trying to finish it off. As such, it's a little unpolished, and largely unbetaed. I have some more author's notes to add to the end of the fic, with my research sources and a little explanation behind the plot, but since tonight will be another sleepless night with a certain book, I'm going to be adding that later on today. Also, I decided to go all out with one of my favourite theories in this chapter, which I'm a little nervous about, but I figured it's not called the Last Chance Showdown for nothing. ;) Thank you to everyone who's reviewed the previous chapters, I hope to get to the rest of my review replies later on, too. As always, many, many thanks to mrstater for bag loads of encouragement, some pretty nifty beta work and generally being the bestest. :) And lastly, whether you're off to a midnight release tonight, or picking it up in the morning, I hope you all have a fabulous experience reading Deathly Hallows.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |

Asinus Protego, Chapter 5

Tonks woke to a pale dawn light seeping in though half-drawn curtains. Remus' arm was draped across her middle, but light snores told her he had yet to wake up; it was rare for her to be awake before him, and usually only when she had to rush off for a rare morning shift or on the odd occasion she stayed with him the night after a full moon. She liked watching him sleep; to feel a night time's worth of warmth radiate from him as he lay still; to see his face relaxed and his breathing deep, steady.

She rolled onto her side, and lay her head on his shoulder, nesting her face into his neck and wrapping her own arm around his waist, tucking her hand beneath him. He stirred slightly, tightening his arm around her as she sighed in contentment.

They'd come so far in just six short days, she thought; from nothing but an admission of mutual need, through an understanding of trust, after which, day by day, piece by piece, their relationship has started to rebuild itself, and now, it seemed, every thing that she'd held dear of what they could find in each other had slipped back into place.

The nightmare of the last year was fading into the background. A sensation of wholeness had usurped empty loneliness; joy had mastered despair; days of work were bracketed by healing relaxation in welcoming arms, and well, satisfaction where a deep and painful longing for Remus in her arms, in her bed, had haunted her every night, had kept her from slumber.

Impulsively, Tonks tilted her chin up and pressed a long kiss to the underside of Remus' chin.

"What was that for?" his sleepy voice rumbled up from his chest, startling her.

She lifted herself up on an elbow, and looked down at his face, watching his eyes blink open to reveal the blue eyes she loved so well. "Wotcher," she said, with what she thought must be a rather stupid grin on her face. "Can't I kiss my fiancé when I feel like it?" Her grin became even wider as she said the word 'fiancé'.

"Of course. I just wondered if I'd said something particularly charming in my sleep." Tonks laughed as Remus gathered her in more securely, slipping an arm under her shoulders and pulling her hips more snugly against his own, tangling their legs together.

They both sighed deeply in unison, content beneath their duvet cocoon under which they took refuge each night to emerge rejuvenated the following morning, only to find the day wore them down again, and the minutes were counted till they could be right back here, comfortable within each other's arms.

"You could always say something charming now, to make up for it?" she said after a while.

Remus strained to look at her. "Am I to take it that I'm expected to say something charming in my sleep?"

"Well, no." Tonks admitted. "But it'd never go amiss."

"How about something that's just simply honest, instead?" Remus asked, rolling Tonks onto her back and leaning over her, resting his weight against her.

"Hm?" she looked up at him in amused expectation.

His eyes roved her face; she felt his gaze touch her hair, across her cheeks and down to her mouth before settling on her eyes. "I can't wait to wake up with you for the rest of my life," he said, lifting his hand to cup her cheek.

Tonks closed her eyes, leaning into his hand, wondering how Remus could say these things -- words that would normally sound so corny and remain utterly and wholly sincere; but she'd realised long ago that such lines were only corny if spoken with insincerity, and Remus was anything by insincere -- well, that was, unless he was being nice to Snape.

"Have you given any thought to what you'd like to be known as, after we get married?" he asked, moving his hand up into her hair and letting the pink locks slide through his fingers.

"A bit. Though I can't say that's not the product of a fair bit of day-dreaming from a while ago." She flashed him a grin.

"Oh, really?" Remus said teasingly. "How long ago, exactly?"

"Like I said, a while ago," she replied with a half-shy smile.

"And what were your thoughts on the subject?" His fingers left her hair to trace a path down the side of her neck and then trace indiscernible patterns high on her chest -- which Remus knew full well would very much hinder her ability or desire to speak a word.

"Well," she said distractedly, "if I'm Nymphadora Lupin, there's no reason people can't still call me Tonks as a nickname, even if it's not official, is there?"

"No reason at all, Nymphadora," he replied, as his fingers worked lower and lower, so slowly, so teasingly, as his lips at her neck joined in with his ministrations. They shifted slightly as her hands on his hips eased him to rest between her thighs.

"Don't…" His mouth dropped lower and closed over a nipple, "Okay, call me anything you want," she sighed.

Remus stopped what he was doing, drawing a faint noise of protest from the back of her throat. "Anything?" he said, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"As long as you stop stopping what you were doing."

"I think," Remus said, dropping his mouth back to her breast, "that you have yourself a deal... Nymphadora."

ooOOoo

A few hours later, after stopping by to share a cup of tea with Molly, and to check on Luna, Remus and Tonks found themselves in front of a cottage, even more ramshackle and more cluttered than The Burrow. Its whitewashed walls bore a light covering of patchy lichen, windows frames were cracked and pealing around panes that had seen better days and certainly not a Scourgify in recent times. Roses and wisteria mingled with ivy, obscuring much of the brick work and doing much to disguise the run down air of the place, though a hard prune with a double strength Reducto curse wouldn't go amiss, Tonks thought.

"Are there any wards on the place?" Remus asked.

"My own," Tonks replied. "They didn't have much more than an Anti-Apparition Charm."

"All of your own?" Remus asked slyly.

"Well, okay, all but one." One of the wards she had set on her flat was a charm that could be invoked only to allow her and Remus to move about in the building during emergencies, its trigger was a particularly intimate memory and they'd set the ward between them, after just a few months together.

They'd already made a tour of the small, overgrown cottage garden with the shed that seemed to be held up by its contents; its mass of dog roses, brambles, with pitted green buds of fruit; vast swathes of love-in-the-mist and spent foxgloves; they'd found nothing unusual or rather, nothing out of place.

Together, they reversed the protective wards, and then carefully, Tonks pushed the front door open to reveal a dark and cluttered, but apparently clean kitchen -- the scent of stale potions lingered in the air, mixing with the slightly musty smell of dust and the old books that were dotted in piles around the room. Both their wand arms raised as a precaution, Remus and Tonks stepped into the room.

"Looks pretty lived in," Tonks said in a low voice. "Do you want to see if you can find Mr. Lovegood's study, and I'll take a look around here?"

"Fine by me," Remus replied, touching his hand to the base of her spine. "Shout if anything out the ordinary happens."

"Okay." Tonks moved towards the kitchen table and began to sift though some of the papers that littered the surface. Out the corner of her eye, she watched Remus slip from the room, on his way upstairs. Most of the parchment seemed to be editorials submitted by various writers on a whole host of dubious topics; none, though, seemed to be at all related to the case at hand.

She moved on to the living room, which was no less cluttered, but distinctly warmer, and held a faint whiff of burnt wood and charcoal. Taking a seat on an old squashy sofa, Tonks pulled a stack of parchment from the coffee table into her lap.

Half an hour later, she sensed Remus' presence behind her. "Did you find anything?" she asked over her shoulder, hurrying through the final few sheets of parchment and sliding them back onto the table.

"No, nothing." He took a seat beside her. "I suppose it's next stop Forest of Dean."

"When do you want to go? This afternoon?"

"I think it would be wise to get this over with as quickly as possible," Remus replied.

Tonks sighed, and leant to rest her head on his shoulder. "It would, then perhaps we could at least have something to show for three days off."

"Well," Remus said, nudging her shoulder with his, "we have managed some pretty great sex, not to mention…" He took her hand and fingered the engagement ring.

"That," Tonks said, "is a very good point." She leant in for a kiss that she'd intended to be brief, but the barest taste of Remus as his lips opened momentarily over hers proved her undoing.

It was several long, unhurried kisses later when Remus broke off to say, "Did you check the fireplace for unburnt scraps of paper?"

"You were thinking about the case while you were kissing me like that? What am I doing wrong?" Tonks asked, only half-jokingly.

Remus laughed. "On the contrary, it was a testament to your kissing technique that I was trying to work out how we could possibly have this wrapped up by the end of the day so that tomorrow, we wouldn't have to get out of bed at all."

"Oh," Tonks replied, "in that case, no, I didn’t check the fire, good idea." She lent in for one more kiss, and then dropped to the floor on her knees and crawled over to the fireplace.

"That, however," Remus said with an amused lilt in his voice, "is not a good idea."

"What's that?" Tonks asked, confused.

"Crawling with your very sexy bottom in the air. It's not going to make me at all useful." True to his words, Remus took a few steps from the sofa and knelt down beside her, placing his hand on her bottom and giving it a squeeze, making her squeal.

"Remus! The fireplace," she said, laughing.

"I did warn you," he replied.

"Only after the fact!"

"You're right, I'm sorry, only when it comes to you I simply can't help myself, and this morning is still rather fresh in my mind."

Tonks closed her eyes as his hand moved up, smoothing along the curve of her back as she rested on all fours. Suddenly, she, too was more than keen to get this finished so they could spend all day tomorrow, just the two of them, without thoughts of the Imperious Curse, or threatened Onocentaurs or young girls with their heads on Death Eater hit lists.

ooOOoo

It wasn't to be, though, and the rest of Tonks' days off passed in a flurry of investigation and then she'd been back at work, jumping into eight straight days of shifts, spending mornings and evening on the Onocentaur case. Time spent with Remus had been nothing more than slipping into bed, exhausted; too tired to do much more than share the occasional lingering kiss or just simply hold each other until the oblivion of sleep over took them.

The Lovegoods' fireplace had yielded one heavily charred piece of parchment. The majority of it had been destroyed, but a small section remained intact, though tarnished by smoke. It was a diagram of what they'd since deducted was the river Seven and the bridges that transect it. Along with Kingsley, they'd been staking out each of the bridges as much as they possibly could.

Between the three of them, they'd decided to handle it within the Order and not involve the Ministry and the original report (which they now suspected had been made by Mr. Lovegood himself) so that Remus' involvement would not be compromised, and no time would be wasted bringing more people up to speed; in any case, they had no explanation for how they'd come into the knowledge provided to them by Snape. Remus had met him, as arranged, the day Tonks went back to work and once since, bearing the uncomfortable news that it had been decreed Mr. Lovegood would be 'dispatched' once he'd reached the end of his usefulness. Death Eaters had apparently caught up with him in the Forest the previous day and had renewed the Imperius Curse, and as far as they were concerned, everything was back on track and going according to plan.

The latter was good news for the Order, as it meant their diversionary tactics with Luna had worked and, thus far, they had managed to avoid detection in their reconnaissance missions in the Forest of Dean.

Still, though, Tonks thought, as she waited at the kitchen table for Remus to come home, exhausted from having just finished the last of her eight shifts, the Death Eaters must still be on their guard, knowing that the Order had, at some point, suspected the plot, and every moment she knew Remus was out there alone, she worried. She'd have called the distraction of Ministry work a blessing if it hadn't precluded her from accompanying Remus for a spot of safety in numbers.

Eight days of low key surveillance had yielded nothing, yet Remus remained positive it was simply a matter of time, and they must persist in their search of the area, and resist any temptation to widen their perimeter.

Tonks glanced at her watch. Ten o'clock. He'd be home soon; Kingsley was due to take over at half past, and then Tonks herself would take a watch shift at six the following morning.

They'd not been together in five days and she was crossing her fingers and toes they'd could snatch an hour or two to themselves tonight. She didn't really care if she was tired for her watch shift in the morning; she could sleep while Remus took his in the afternoon. After a week that had been as intense in physical union as their first together after so long, she was feeling just a little bit desperate for wanting him.

She'd been home for a little under an hour, and, to pass the time -- and to save time later -- she'd prepared a couple of plates of cheese and biscuits and sliced a couple of apples. Her plan was for a little picnic on their bedroom floor -- or, to save even more time, on the bed. Flanked by a pair of glasses, a bottle of red wine was already upstairs on the dresser, uncorked to let it breathe, whatever that meant.

She wished she'd bought some paperwork home from work to keep her busy while she waited, and that, she thought, was saying something, given her usual attitude to paper work, which was along the lines of hatred with the power of several burning suns. Her thoughts, instead, turned to the case.

One thing still didn't add up: the one thought that all her uneasy feelings of doubt about whether the Forest of Dean was truly the right location to concentrate their entire force of effort upon. Dumbledore had written his notes months ago; Snape said the Onocentaurs had been trailed from forest to forest for almost the same period, and the only thing holding it together was some educated guess work from a single rune. There was no lore they could find that connected the Onocentaurs to the Forest of Dean, no mention of them in the research that had spun, web-like from that single, sketched character on crumpled parchment.

They were missing something, she was sure of it.

Remus was convinced they were on the right track, and it was merely a case of waiting for a clue to present itself. Perhaps it was a mark of their respective experience. It did not injure Tonks' pride to accept that Remus had a few years on her in dealing with Death Eater operations; three years of Auror training were intended to provide the necessary knowledge to really begin to learn once let loose in the field, and she'd only had a year of active duty; even her first year in the Order of the Phoenix had not been much more exciting than a little espionage and the odd guard duty over Harry Potter or outside the Department of Mysteries.

So, she was quite willing to bow to Remus' wisdom, although she had taken him through her concerns a couple of times, because she knew that if her logic burrowed a hole in Remus' he'd be the first to acknowledge it. Thus far, he'd asked her to remain tight to the original plan.

A growing brightness in the corner of her eye dragged her attention away from her thoughts, she turned towards the kitchen door to see a majestic eagle: Remus' Patronus easing though the wood. It soared towards her and stopped two feet shy. Remus' voice, hushed and urgent, echoed dully between the rough stone walls of the kitchen.

Come to the Forest as soon as you can. I'll be waiting in the usual place. Be careful, we are not alone tonight.

Tonks leapt up, as the eagle Patronus turned to leave the room. She did a cursory check of her clothes: sturdy boots, perfect for traipsing though the forest and gave her a fair chance of keeping her balance should a get away on foot be called for; shabby t-shirt and loose, but not baggy trousers that wouldn't be too warm beneath her robes, which she Summoned from the bedroom and hastily donned.

She hurried up the stairs, through the hallway and out the front door. With a quick glance around the square for Muggles, she Disapparated into the inky night under the faint glow of a waxing crescent moon.

Soundlessly, she arrived in shadow-darkened woodland, the moon just visible between creaking oak branches that towered ominously above her. Beneath her feet, moss formed a soft carpet that dampened her footsteps as she backed towards a large rocky outcrop and dropped to her haunches, leaning back against the stone, wand raised and eyes and ears alert. She daren't call for Remus; he was expecting her and would come to her when he could.

As she waited, forest sounds called ever more loudly through a blanket of still silence: owls haunted the night with their hooted greeting of darkness, as the very last of pale yellow light clung on to the western sky; the occasional gust of wind swelled in the tree tops, leaves whispering to the night time, a small mouse crossed her line of sight, quietly rustling fallen leaves in its path-

A twig snapped…

Footsteps…

We are not alone tonight…

Wouldn't Remus have announced himself more obviously?

She felt short of breath as her heart sped up, not permitting herself to take the deep breaths she needed, lest she give away her position. She readied herself to cast a non-verbal Stunner, her wand held close to her chest; a highly polished wand by the light of even the smallest of moons was not an advantage she wished to give any aggressor.

A few more footsteps shuffled forward, closer still … Approaching from behind.

Dare she shift to turn to her right?

And then relief, as a familiar bluish light caught her peripheral vision.

Remus.

"You great prat," she hissed as she scrambled to her feet. "Did you have to sneak up like that?"

"I'm sorry," he said, extinguishing the flame in his palm and walking up to her, still careful to keep his movements quiet. "I wasn't sure it was you."

"What made you sure it was me?" Tonks whispered back.

Remus positioned himself next to her, leaning back against the rock. "I caught the scent of your perfume on the breeze."

How long could you remain angry at a man who paid enough attention to notice something like that on a night like this?

"Are you okay?" she asked, still whispering. "What happened?"

Sliding down to the ground, pulling her gently with him, he said "I've found the Onocentaurs, and they granted me an audience."

"You've spoken with them?" Tonks asked incredulously. "How on earth did you manage that?"

For a moment, Tonks though she saw a ghost of unease pass across Remus' face, he looked down at his hands, wandless and pale. "They said they knew they could trust me."

"Is that who you meant when you said we are not alone?" Suddenly struck with the need to touch him, Tonks laid her hand on Remus thigh.

"No. Ramoneus, the leader of the Onocentaurs is certain that they've been followed to the Forest, though he thinks they are regrouping on the perimeter."

"Do we know how many?" Tonks asked, trying to stay calm and steal her nerves in preparation for whatever they might have to do.

"Three, he thinks. I'm going to assume one is Mr. Lovegood. If we are to face them, we must prioritise our actions." Remus placed his own hand over hers. "We must face the possibility that saving Mr. Lovegood might not make our primary objective."

"Then what is?" Tonks said.

"Our theories weren't far off," he replied. "They have indeed travelled here with the Bifröst Bridge as a destination, although they don't call it that."

"What do they call it?"

"The Bridge of Asinus. Although the legend is essentially the same. According to Ramoneus, the site beneath the apex of the bridge, which is essentially a magical force field that lies in the path of the Muggle bridge between two rune carvings, is where guardianship of magic was bestowed upon the Onocentaurs. That magic was performed by none other than Godric Gryffindor, in the latter part of the First Century. He invoked even more ancient magic to provide the Onocentaurs with a sanctuary, should life in the mortal world become too perilous for the future of the magic -- only to be used as a very last resort. Ramoneus is of the opinion that now is the time to open the bridge; that the risk is too great, and that after almost a thousand years, it is time to consign the Onocentaurs to legend, but they need our help."

This time, Tonks did not mistake the unease that passed through him. "There is something you're not telling me," she said.

"Yes," Remus said quietly, looking down at their hands, still resting on his thigh. When he looked up, his face was troubled.

"What is it, love? Tell me," Tonks said softly.

"I want you to know that this isn't something I kept from you because I couldn't trust you with it; it's only recently become my secret to tell."

Speechless, Tonks could only squeeze his hand to encourage him to continue.

"Only descendents of Gryffindor hold the power to open the bridge. That means me … And now, it also means you."

"You … Me? You're related to Godric Gryffindor?" Remus nodded, and Tonks felt … Well she didn't know how she felt. "And me?" she asked, for lack of anything else to say.

Remus' eyes softened as he met her gaze fully. "As far as the magic invoked by Gryffindor is concerned, you are, to all intents and purposes, my wife. You wear my ring on your finger, you have declared your allegiance to me, and one thousand years ago, that was all that could be required of a marriage recognised in law."

"I…" Tonks started. Still wrong footed, but not at all because she felt betrayed by him withholding his secret, or even really surprised; she'd always know that a powerful magic lay behind Remus' mild-mannered exterior; she'd seen him at work and felt it in intimate moments.

Clearly mistaking the reason behind her shocked silence, Remus said, "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you before; I wanted to, many times. Especially since I've been at liberty to…"

"Dumbledore," Tonks murmured.

"Yes," he replied simply. "Are you okay with this? And your part?"

"Of course I am," she said firmly. "How could I not be? I'm sorry, I just don't know how to put my thoughts. All I know for certain is that I feel honoured to be able to stand beside you as your wife in this task."

"I am honoured -- and the luckiest man alive -- to have you." Remus' eyes met hers with clarity, honesty, and Tonks knew that they, collectively, were lucky to have each other; she'd never believed in anything more fiercely than she believed in them at that moment.

"I love you," Tonks said.

"And I love you, so much." His kiss was so sweetly intense that, in its brevity, it seemed at once to be over too quickly and yet, last a lifetime.

"We must head down into the valley soon," Remus said softly. "There isn't much time, and we would do well to finish the job before we have a fight on our hands."

"Of course," Tonks said. "What do we need to do?"

"The rune stones at each end of the bridge will reveal an incantation when we touch them. According to Rameneus, when we begin to read, the bridge will begin to form, with the youngest first, the Onocentaurs will cross. Beyond that, we don't know exactly what will happen."

Tonks nodded once.

"Are you ready?" Remus asked.

She twined her fingers with his. "As I'll ever be."

They stood together, and Remus led her to the edge of the valley, looking down over the river below. The western horizon was now as dark it was to the east, the tips of statuesque pines cast ragged shadows in the light of the moon. The air was still and warm, and felt thick with anticipation; the silence deafening -- with even the owls silent now.

"We'll Apparate to the western end of the Muggle bridge, where I'll leave you to walk back across. The Onocentaurs are waiting to the east," Remus said.

"Okay." Hands firmly clasped, they Apparated together, and in an instant, they were standing on the threshold to the bridge, high above the murky river, that inched slowly along its course.

Remus knelt and used his hands to sweep aside leaves and soil to reveal an ancient-looking flat stone set firmly in the ground; a rich, earthy aroma infused the air. "You need only touch your palm to this for the stone to reveal the incantation. I will send you a signal when we're ready to go."

He rose and took both her hands in his. "Be careful, Tonks. If the Death Eaters come, we need to hold on as long as we can and then Disapparate. When the last of the Onocentaurs has passed across the bridge, let go, immediately. I will come for you, and then we can meet up with Kingsley, who is keeping lookout half way between here and where the Death Eaters were last seen. He may already have Mr. Lovegood, but if he doesn't, we will need to look for him."

Tonks nodded. "You be careful, too. I fully expect you to show me just how much you love me when we get home tonight," she joked.

Remus' eyes twinkled though his frown of concern. He said nothing, but he didn't need to, she knew exactly what he was thinking when he lifted both her hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. Then he lent forward and pressed a kiss to her lips, turned, and began to walk across the bridge.

As she watched him go, Tonks thought how long ago it seemed since she'd been sitting in the safety of the kitchen at Grimmauld, waiting for Remus to return; how much she'd learnt since then and how unreal it felt to be standing at the foot of a bridge that lead to an immortal world. Time seemed to slow to a cruel sluggish ticking of seconds that felt like minutes as she watched Remus' form grow ever smaller as he crossed the ravine.

Her heart lept in her throat when she saw the unmistakable bluish hue of Remus' trademark flame glow in the distance, slowly, she knelt, knowing instinctively to touch the stone before her when the flame suddenly surged and died.

Words appeared instantly beneath her fingers, revealing themselves almost rhythmically in the rock.

"For Radhio will light this path, protect and oversee,
Journey swift on blessed hoof may be.
Gerbo will guide those of worthy steed,
And reward for selfless deed.
With the wind, Wunjo yields harmony,
For the rainbow of deliverance will come to thee.
With the will of Isa, this connection will hold,
To balance, to counter the danger foretold.
And Eihwaz, rotates as the circle of life,
To see the future and magic free from strife.
Sig and Tyr, we call on thee,
Please come, at your mercy mighty magic will be."

As Tonks spoke the last two lines, an ethereal band of light stretched the bredth of the valley; it grew brighter and widened, into a path of spectral luminescence. She watched, transfixed as it the first Onocentaur stepped up to cross, and others behind it, lit up in the glowing light of the bridge between them.

She held her breath as it stepped out onto the crossing, her hand still pressed tightly to the cool stone at her feet. After a few tentative steps, it increased its pace to a confident trot, and it wasn't long before Tonks, even from a relative distance was able to discern the youth of its -- his, she could now see -- body; his coat shone silver in the brightness below him. Behind him, others were now making the crossing; eerily, their hooves made no sound on the magical pass.

Within minutes the young Onocentaur was stood before her; his smile was warm and friendly, then he spoke, "The others will not have time to stop, but they wish me to thank you for your assistance, and bid you good luck with your crusade against the forces who seek to bring darkness upon this world. There is little our kind can do but protect the magic that flows within us, and this passing into the next world is our destiny. Tell our story, let it live on in magical lore, we will have served our purpose if lessons may be learnt. I must go now, a new world awaits."

After such a speech from one so young, any response Tonks might have felt woefully inadequate, but she said, "It has been an honour, and thank you for your sacrifice."

The Onocentaur swept into a low bow, rising slowly as a window of light appeared before him, with a glance back to his fellows, now lined up at intervals, spanning the length bridge, he resumed a swift trot, and within a few steps, vanished silently, leaving only fluid ripples shimmering in the brilliance before her. In a few moments, a second Onocentaur, this time a young female had disappeared in the same spot, and then one after another.

A horn sounded from the other side of the valley, and the Onocentaurs at once increased their speed, now cantering; their expressions fixed and determined as they headed for the window. The horn sounded again, this time louder and longer.

A voice whispered in the back of Tonks' mind: the Gjallarhorn -- sound of danger approaching.

Tonks looked down, into the ravine, and her heart leap into her throat at the sight of several wand lights running towards them along the banks of the river. Looking back up, she counted four, five, six, seven Onocentaurs, still making the crossing.

A jet of red cut through the night, soaring up from below, over the bridge and falling away harmlessly on the other side. Another, this time heading dangerously, worryingly, sickeningly close to where she knew Remus was crouched; she held her breath, and only relaxing slightly when the bridge still held -- if he'd been hit, surely the connection would have been lost.

Just three Onocentaurs were left, but now the glowing wand tips were right beneath the bridge. Desperately Tonks willed the creatures before her to hurry. Just two left now.

As the first of the two approached, a elderly female, Tonks saw, with bile rising in her throat, that a beam of white light had now appeared directly behind where Remus stood, terror struck her very core when she heard the swish of robes behind her.

She screamed, "Remus!" as the female Onocentaur passed through the glowing light of the window that still shone brightly in front of her.

When the pooling effect of the light had stilled, she could see the last remaining Onocentaur, majestic, with long silvery hair, stopped twenty yards out before her, his torso facing out toward the river, his arms held straight out to his side, parallel to the bridge.

Before she knew what was happening, a booming voice echoed between the rock faces of the gorge.

She just made out the words, 'Asinus Protego' as a green shot of emerald flashed on the opposite bank, its twin cracked in her peripheral vision from behind her, and she was thrown back from the stone, the connection broken, she watched in horror as the Onocentaur tumbled from her line of sight, silently, as though resolutely without objection to his fate.

Ramoneus, she though, in an odd moment of clarity that gave way to the realisation that she was surrounded by the most powerful Shield Charm she'd ever seen, and the green jet of light she'd known was heading her way had not hit; she was ensconced in a thick, protective bubble of magical essence. Scrambling to her feet, adrenalin coursing palpably through her veins, pounding in her neck and in her chest, she Disapparated back to the rocky outcrop where tonight's adventures had begun, straight into Remus' waiting arms.

It was barely another second before she felt the pull of Apparition again, and moments later she knew they'd left the Forest.

ooOOoo

In the early hours of that morning, Remus and Tonks sat side by side on their bed in Grimmauld Place; shoulder to shoulder, thighs and calves pressed together, arms locked and fingers entwined. Tonks didn't really remember making it from the front steps to their bedroom, just the solid reality of Remus' arms around her as they'd slid to the floor against the door the moment it had clicked shut.

What she could remember, with startling detail, was Remus' shaking body as he held her tightly; she'd never seen him so rattled, not even when she'd finally found him last April, after the attack on the Montague boy, and that, as much as anything, confirmed how close they'd come tonight to losing everything, and what would have been lost but for the selfless act of the eldest Onocentaur, and she cried for him, too, hot tears sliding down her face in a marriage of sorrow and relief.

Eventually, Remus had put his fingers under her chin, lifting her head from his chest, and told her she ought to get into bed. She'd allowed him to help her up and had only protested slightly as he helped her off with her clothes and into pyjamas before disappearing downstairs to fetch them each a stiff shot of brandy, which he'd said was more suitable then the wine she'd left out earlier.

It was only after a few sips that she'd found the presence of mind to ask him what had happened to Mr. Lovegood -- if they'd found him or had been forced to leave him to his death. Remus had told her gently that Kingsley had been able to intercept him on his way into the Forest, without the knowledge of the Death Eaters, who, they assumed, had believed themselves to be following him towards the bridge. Remus had Apparated to the outcrop to find Kingsley's Patronus waiting for him, relaying the news in a few short words.

With a shaky sigh, Tonks swallowed the last of her brandy and placed the empty glass on her bedside table. Remus followed suit, and then, gathering her to him, slid them both down the bed, pulling the duvet up to their chins and then wandlessly extinguished the candles.

She felt, rather than heard Remus' whispered I love you, before exhaustion carried her off to sleep.

ooOOoo

The next morning, Tonks woke slowly to the realisation that she was alone in bed. Concern peeked as the events of the previous night came rushing back in a steady flow of snap shot images. She turned to face the empty side of the bed to find a note folded on the pillow. Rolling onto her stomach, she propped herself up on her elbows and picked up the parchment, with Remus' untidy scrawl printed across the front.

My dearest Nymphadora,

I am sorry to be leaving you to wake alone, I'm sitting at the desk watching you sleep and as tempting as it is to crawl back into bed with you, I must set out to run a couple of errands that will leave the day free for us to spend together, uninterrupted.

I will be back by one o'clock, and would very much like to take you out for the afternoon.

All my love,

Remus
xx

Smiling to herself, Tonks ran her fingers over Remus' signature and the two kisses beneath, feeling sure he'd touched his lips there before leaving the note beside her. She glanced behind her to the clock on the wall above the dresser, it was midday. Just enough time and at the same time entirely too much time; she couldn't wait to spend a day thinking about nothing but him.

After passing some time daydreaming about what they might get up to and where Remus might be taking her, Tonks dragged herself out of bed. She drew back the curtains to find clear blue skies and the sun beaming hotly through the window. She dressed carefully, pulling on her favourite set of sunshine yellow bra and knickers that went perfectly below her pale yellow knee-length sundress, embroidered in a delicate pattern of daisies. She morphed her hair into Remus' favourite shade of pink and dug out a pair of white sandals from the wardrobe.

As a finishing touch she fastened a simple silver chain with a rose quartz pendent that Remus had given her for her birthday two years ago. Then, feeling far too cheerfully dressed for the dreary house, she headed downstairs to wait for him, settling on the stairs in the hallway so she'd be there to greet him when he arrived.

She didn't have long to wait, and before she knew it, she was once again wrapped snugly in Remus' armed, surrendered to the pull of Apparition.

It was with a shock, though, that she realised Remus had brought her to the same rocky outcrop on which the nightmare of last night had begun and ended.

"Remus," she said, with hesitation.

"It's okay, love. It's safe now," he said soothingly. "I met with Severus this morning and the Death Eaters concerned have already been summoned by Voldemort himself to face punishment for their failure."

"Oh," Tonks said, feeling confused. "Why are we here?"

"I want to show you something," he replied, taking her hand and leading her towards a path that led away from the river.

They walked in comfortable silence. Tonks began to relax as she realised how different, how much less threatening the Forest was by the light of day. Birds sang in the trees; branches dancing in the breeze were soothing rather than threatening. Every now and again they came across a clearing that seemed to be packed full of sunbeams that beat down on them, warming Tonks to the very tips of her toes.

Eventually, they came to a junction in the path where two paths converged into a single, narrow one that stretched on before them, to a sharp bend. They followed it.

When they rounded the corner, Tonks gasped, and stopped mid-step. Not fifty yards in front of them stood the most idyllic, picturesque little chapel she'd ever seen. Brick built, with an apex roof tiled in slate, it was nestled perfectly between two ancient yew trees. She turned to Remus who was drawing something out of the pocket of his robes.

"I also went to get this, this morning," he said, holding a piece of Muggle paper out to her.

She took it with shaking hands and opened it…

A marriage licence.

"I realise I should have involved you in choosing the location for our wedding … And perhaps the day, too," he added with a chuckle. "But what do you think?"

"Remus, I … It's perfect, I don't know what to say," she said.

"Just say yes," he replied, stepping closer and lifting a hand to her face. "Just say yes," he murmured again, scuffing her cheek with his thumb.

"Yes," she whispered back, leaning in to kiss him for the last time as Nymphadora Tonks.