Promise by Moonshape
Title: Promise
Author: Moonshape
Fandom: Harry Potter, (HBP movie version)
Pairing: Remus/Tonks
Rating: PG/K
Word count: 857
Spoilers: Spoilers for HBP for the slow readers amongst us?
Summary: Remus is agitated with Harry’s behaviour and Tonks tries to calm him down.
Disclaimer: Story is mine. Harry Potter and its characters belongs to JKR. Movie materials to WB. No profit made. Just for fun.
***
Remus rubbed his hands, looking from Tonks to Harry. Did the boy really believe Snape was betraying Dumbledore? Snape and Remus had never been friends, but he trusted Dumbledore’s judgement above anything.
He averted his eyes but he saw from the corners how Tonks made a hand gesture to Harry. He looked up and met Tonks’ eyes, who nudged her head towards the hallway. She got up, placing her hand on his shoulder as she walked passed him, indicating he had to follow.
So he got up, leaving Harry and Arthur in the sitting room, and followed Nymphadora. She opened the front door and stepped out into the cold December air. She placed her elbows on the railing of the porch, as Remus closed the door.
‘You think I’m wrong?’ Remus asked quietly, as he placed his palms on the railing too.
‘No,’ Tonks answered. ‘But I don’t think Harry is lying either.’
‘Neither do I,’ Remus admitted, pushing himself away from the railing, pocketing his hands and slowly started to pace around on the porch. ‘But Dumbledore’s trust is the only thing we’ve got.’
Tonks averted her eyes, crossing her arms and pressing her elbows against her sides as a cold wind blew past. She looked up again and held out her hand.
‘Come on,’ she said, bending her fingers briefly before extending them again. ‘Let’s walk.’
Remus took her hand and they walked around the house in silence. Only when they had passed the garden fence, they stopped. Tonks let go of his hand and pushed herself up onto the fence, sitting down on it so her eyes were the same height as Remus’.
‘Are you alright, Remus?’ she asked worried.
Remus smiled weakly, the wrinkles around his eyes more visible than before. He was tired. Tired of everything. Tired of the Order, the war, the ministry and most of all, tired of being a werewolf. But he never grew tired of her. She was the brightness in life. His sanctuary. She was his will to go on with it all.
‘The moon is nearing,’ he said. ‘I’m tired - that’s all.’
She cocked her head. She knew bloody well the moon was nearing and that he was tired. But he wasn’t telling the truth. She might be young and clumsy, but she wasn’t stupid.
‘D’you want to go home?’ she asked. ‘We could go if you want to.’
‘No, I’m fine,’ Remus said, turning his back towards the fence and leaning against it. He rested his elbows on the fence and the both of them stared into space for only a few seconds before she spoke:
‘Talk to me, Remus,’
Remus raised his eyebrows as he looked sideways at her. They had only been together for a few weeks, but yet she was demanding him to be honest with her. He had always been a rather withdrawn person, even more since Sirius died. But it was good to have her around and trust her.
‘I’m sick of it all, Tonks,’ he said as he looked ahead again and for a moment, he saw how she held her breath. He looked back at her, surprised by the shock on her face.
‘Not of you,’ he quickly added. ‘Just - everything.’
‘Don’t say that, Remus,’ she sighed. She seemed a bit more relieved but still worried about him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and rested her head on top of it, her hair tickling his cheek.
‘It’s just this war, Dora,’ he sighed as well. ‘It has only just started but I wished it would be over. We’ve only had thirteen years to recover from the last one.’
She placed her other arm across his chest, her hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze.
‘We’ll fight, Remus,’ she said, sounding determined. ‘We’ll fight as hard as we can. Then we can only hope it will end soon.’
Remus smiled weakly again, placing his hand on her arm. Even though the war saddened him, he still had her, which was the bright side of it all. If it hadn’t been for the war, the Order would never have been reformed and he would never have met her. He wasn’t exactly grateful of that, but still glad it had to be like this.
‘Stay with me,’ he said quietly. ‘If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself during this time.’
Tonks lifted up her head, withdrawing her hands as she looked at him.
‘Don’t say anything like that, Remus,’ she said, this time a bit firmer. Even though it was dark, he could see the dark crease above her eyes.
‘Then stay with me,’ he repeated. Her support was the only thing that kept him sane.
She curled a lip and asked: ‘Are you bribing me?’
‘No, I want you to make a promise,’ he corrected her. ‘We’ll stay together - whatever happens.’
Her curled lips turned into a proper smile and she leaned her head forwards to kiss him gently on his lips. She withdrew from the kiss long enough to say: ‘I promise,’ before she kissed his lips again.