Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

Hogwarts: Assignment #11, Fashion, Textiles and Tailoring Task #2 Write about protecting someone from physical harm

Warnings: Canon lycanthropy-related feels and angst

What Can and Cannot Be Chosen

Tonks muttered to herself as she crept down Diagon Alley, tucking her face behind her scarf so that her breath, puffing against the winter air, wouldn't give her away. It was probably a lost cause; the sound of snow crackling underfoot and her shadow in the alleyway already signaled her presence. Still, she couldn't help but hear Mad-Eye's voice in the back of her head: every bit counts.

She held her wand at her side, casually enough that she wouldn't necessarily look defensive but ready to fire. Remus called it her Auror's posture. She wondered how Remus was doing, down the other alleyway where he'd chased a different suspect. Well, 'suspect' was perhaps too official of a word for this. She wasn't on Auror Office business or even on Order business. She and Remus were supposed to be on a date—just supper in the Leaky Cauldron, nothing particularly creative or mind-boggling though it was very exciting given how long she'd been working on convincing Remus that the world wouldn't end if they were seen in public together. And so yes, of course they'd spotted a pair of Death Eaters exchanging money with one of Mundungus's crooked friends before they'd even finished their first firewhiskey. She'd even borrowed an unstained, untorn, unscathed dress from Hestia for the occasion. A dress in which, Remus said, she looked great. But now here they were; him tailing Lucius Malfoy while she went after the unidentified suspect—some bloke in a cloak.

She tried not to let her annoyance distract her from the task at hand and continued making her way down the alley, hugging the right wall and keeping her ears peeled. There were no other footsteps in the snow, which made her nervous. She didn't see anything when she looked up in the sky—at least not until the suspect jumped from an open window above her.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted. The spell blasted away the figure that had been plummeting towards her—humanoid, probably a man, around 5'8, shoulders hunched. That sent him flying away from Tonks but he twisted in the air and landed on his feet several feet away from her. His posture was combative; hands curled into claws, shoulders hunched, knees bent, feet parted and ready to move…

She raised her wand again.

"Don't try anything," she said. She didn't recognize the man from the roster of Death Eaters the Order kept files on or from the Azkaban prisoners whose faces she'd been made to memorize at work. But between the teeth sharpened to rows of points, the scars slashing his face, his thick eyebrows, and the wicked look in his eyes… well, even if only a few pictures of Fenrir Greyback had appeared in The Daily Prophet, he had quite the memorable face.

A grin split across Greyback's face.

"I recognize you," he said.

"Pink hair tends to be a bit of a giveaway, yeah," Tonks said. She took a step forward, keeping her want level with his chest.

"You're that Auror. But I hear you're not just an Auror," Greyback said, smiling again. "You're Remus Lupin's little girlfriend."

"You'd be surprised how hard it is to be romantic when the likes of you are lurking about," she said. "You're a real mood killer, Greyback."

"That's not all," he said with a laugh that made him instantly more punchable.

"Take that fighting stance again and I'll fire," Tonks said. "What are you in Diagon Alley for?"

"Now, now," Greyback said. His voice was softer than she would have expected, but it conjured the image of honey dripping down the blade of a knife. "Don't be so mean, Madam Auror. We're family, you and I. I made Remus, you know."

"You did no such thing; now unless you're going to tell me what you're doing here, shut up," Tonks said.

"My memory during transformations wasn't all that sharp all those years ago, but I remember him," Greyback said. "Little boy, big brown eyes—do you like his eyes too, Madam Auror? I got him on the shoulder, I think."

"Don't taunt me," Tonks said. She knew perfectly well that Greyback was just waiting for a chance to attack, and the split second it would take her to cast a spell would be enough for a predator like him. Mad-Eye had dealt with Greyback before; she knew he was faster than his weathered form would suggest. She knew fully well that werewolves carried over no part of their full-moon aspects into their regular selves, but even Remus had always talked around the subject when (and only when) Greyback was concerned.

"Tell me what you're doing here and maybe I'll let you go," she said.

Information was more useful to the Order than an actual capture, at this point—especially from Greyback, since he was one of Voldemort's former allies that Dumbledore was particularly concerned about. Every now and then there were hints of establishing a relationship with the underground werewolf communities, but Tonks didn't like the sound of them, nor did she like how quiet Remus got when she tried talking to him about it.

"That's no way to talk to family, Madam Auror."

"We're not family," Tonks said. "Nor are you and Remus. You're a predator and you're vile, and if I realize you're not useful I may just hex the shit out of you."

Greyback clucked his tongue at her.

"Such a bad attitude," he said, shaking his head. "Wizards and their wands think so highly…"

She saw him tense to attack and cast her spell seconds before he finished his sentence and a heartbeat before he pounced However, before her spell could hit him, another blast of blue light from behind Tonks nailed Greyback in the shoulder and threw him back again. She heard footsteps in the snow and suddenly there was Remus, grabbing Tonks by the arm and throwing him behind her.

"Back away," Remus said, eyes blazing.

"Hello again, Remus," Greyback said tauntingly, staggering back to his feet.

"I told you to back away," Remus said. "I'm not going to be entertaining you tonight."

"I'd heard she was yours," Greyback snarled. "Got yourself a witch, did you?"

"She's her own's," Remus said. "And I don't want you to have anything to do with her."

"You always think the worst of me, Remus."

"I know well enough to," Remus said. "And if I hear that you're trolling around her, I will kick your ass, old man."

The bite in Remus' voice and his tone caught Dora off-guard. She had never heard him like this before. Then again, she supposed that she had never seen him confronted with and forced to negotiate the parts of him he usually tucked away.

"Such an attitude," Greyback said. "You would know more respect if you weren't playing at human… I wouldn't have to teach you..."

"What are you going to do, bite me again?" Remus asked, combatively. "You've got two wands on you Greyback, get lost."

"Don't you want to know what juicy, juicy business I've got going on?" Greyback said. "You may even like it, Remus…"

"I want you gone in the next five seconds or I'm firing a killing curse I'll happily go to Azkaban for," Remus said.

Greyback smiled.

"We can finish this business later," Greyback said. "Have your night with her, Remus. I'll have you back eventually."

Though Greyback didn't carry a wand, Tonks had read in a case file once upon a time that he did know how to apparate. She supposed that was true since he vanished.

Remus dropped his wand and swung back towards her, cupping her face in his hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked, each word urgent and punching through the cold air between them.

"Yes, he was nowhere near me," Tonks said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Remus said, pulling her against him. "I'm fine, just… I lost Malfoy in the other alley, but I'm sure it was him. If you're ever faced with Greyback again, I want you to get out as soon as possible."

"I thought I could get him talking," Tonks said. "I know I could have."

"There would have been a cost for that later," Remus said. He backed away and pushed a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "Today he was happy to just be a nuisance, but…"

"Remus, I'm an Auror," she said. "I know what I'm doing."

"I know," Remus said. He breathed deeply, fog pouring from his mouth. "I know, you're a bloody brilliant one too, I just… I worry."

"Okay," Tonks said. "Okay, that's fine, I… I promise I won't talk to him again."

Remus nodded, running a hand up and down his cheek. Then he sighed again.

"I'm sorry," Remus said. "I'm sorry, he gets under my skin. I've only met him a few times, but he always does."

"It's fine," Tonks said. She reached out to slide her fingers through his hair. "You know, he was right about one thing. I am yours. I don't care about Greyback or the bite or whatever other baggage you come with. You know that, right?"

Remus smiled at her but he didn't say yes, which bugged her.

"Remus," she said again, trying to prompt him.

"I don't like that you met him," Remus said. "I… I don't like that at all. He's the worst parts of me, all at once; the parts I wish weren't there so that I could be better."

"You're nothing like him, no matter what he says," she said. "Trust me, I would never kiss that."

Remus laughed, finally. He bent down to pick up his wand and wiped it against his robe to get rid of the excess snow.

"I lost my appetite," Remus confessed. "But I think we have everything we need back home to make hot chocolate and warm up. We can possibly spike it too."

"Warm up those cookies Molly dropped off," she nodded approvingly, liking the possibilities here. "Curl up by the fire, bring down some blankets…"

"Or save a trip and curl up in bed," Remus suggested.

She grinned. That sounded like a good date too.

"I can be convinced," she said, slipping her mittened hand in his. He squeezed and led her out of the alley and back home.

"What did you do to that pretty Auror of yours?"

Remus spun around from his seat at the campfire, where he had been watching two of the younger children play while their mother went to find something for them to eat. It was Greyback, coming towards him. Even if the full moon was three days away, he was walking around with his chest and back exposed—fueled by some lore about basking in the moonlight as much as he could or some such nonsense. Thankfully, enough members of Greyback's pack seemed unconvinced by this particular habit of his that Remus didn't stand out for keeping his sweaters on.

"What?" Remus asked, frowning.

"Pink hair," Greyback said. "Attitude."

"Oh," Remus said. "Yes, her. We split."

"She left you," Greyback said flatly. Remus hesitated before nodding. It was a lie, but what good would telling the truth do? Frankly, it was most likely safer for Dora this way.

Greyback scoffed before he surprised Remus by clapping a hand on his back.

"They always do," he said. "They never understand the ties that really bind us."

"I suppose I thought I could choose," Remus said, not taking his eyes off the children playing.

Greyback's hand tightened around his shoulder.

"Well, you're here now," Greyback said. "That's what matters."

Remus hated himself for playing the good mole and nodding.

Remus kissed Teddy's forehead. He was going to lower the baby back in Dora's arms, but then he kissed his forehead again. The baby continued to sleep happily and so profoundly that the colour of his hair drifted from soft pinks to soft blues and back again.

"I would choose you if I could," Remus said. "I would spend the whole night long watching you, baby boy."

Remus supposed that he was, in a way, choosing to put Teddy first by throwing on his cloak and rushing over to Hogwarts. It would just be so much easier and softer if he could choose Teddy by rocking him for hours on end and coaxing him back to sleep when he stirred. He supposed that they didn't have the luxury of choice.

"He'll be here for you once all this is done," Dora promised. She smiled, even if it didn't reach her eyes. Remus smiled back too, equally uncertain, and lowered the baby back into her arms. When his were empty, he kissed the top of her head.

"You're going to be alright?" he checked again.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, Teddy and I will be just fine. And you?"

"I'll be alright," Remus said. He pushed a strand of her trademark pink hair back behind her ear. Keeping the two of them safe was the easiest choice there was to make.

Shipping Wars

Ship (Team): Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks (Technicolour Moon)

List (Prompt): Spring Big List (Borrowed Clothing)

Word count: 2166