Moody looked from the sobbing man to the werewolf underfoot. It was be easier to deal with the criminal first. With a swish and stab of his wand, the old auror stunned and bound the man called Smith. Getting Remus to his feet would be the tricky part. How could he console someone on the verge of lunacy? Of course, he understood the tragedy all too well. Years of auror experience caused Alastor to carry several potions in his jacket. One of them was a calming draught.

"Lupin," he said in the best consoling voice he could do. "Lupin!" he snapped. Moody might as well have talked to the brick walls on either side of them. Grabbing Remus by the back of his head, Alastor poured the contents of his calming potion into the man's mouth.

A few moments later the sobbing stopped but Remus was not fully back. He lifted his head and his eyes still showed immobilizing grief. "Tonks," he managed to say.

"Up with you," Moody said pulling Remus to his feet. "There's a hospital not too far from here. Just a few streets over, if I recall." Donning a muggle hat he kept handy, Moody set off with Remus.

Supporting a fully grown man who was a head taller was an arduous task for someone with one prosthetic leg. It wasn't worth the risk of being seen levitating Remus to the hospital, however, so Moody struggled up to the hospital door where he dumped Remus into a wheeled chair the muggled left at the doors. It took Alastor a few tries at the door before he trusted it would open for him but eventually made it to the reception desk.

When the shift nurse saw them, she ran to the other side of the desk toward Remus. "Oh my, what happened to him?" she asked with her clipboard ready.

"Him? He'll be fine. I'm looking for a whi- a young lady who might have been brought in tonight. She's mid-twenties and has pink hair. Might have some deep scratches." Moody had scoured hospitals for victims of magical crimes plenty of times and had mastered the art of talking to the receptionist.

The nurse cast a concerned look at Remus before shouting over her shoulder to a person out of sight, "Didn't we get a pink haired person in psych?" The confirming answer was all Moody needed. "She was brought in not too long ago. How do you know her?"

This was the part Moody always struggled with. "We're her, uh, cousins and she had a bad fall a few weeks ago. Caused her to sometimes forget things and run off." Moody rummaged in his pocket for a few moments and found a slip of paper he betwitched with a confounding jinx. "This should explain it," he said slipping the paper to the nurse.

"Oh yes, the poor dear. I'll take you to her right away," the nurse said setting the clipboard down.

It was much easier to move at a respectable pace with Remus in the wheelchair. He was almost comatose and showed no interest in their activity. After a quick ride in the lift and a walk through the maze of corridors, they reached a door marked Jane Doe.

A quick peek through the window confirmed her identity to Moody. "That's her. Can I go in? She'll respond better to a familiar face." The nurse nodded and unlocked the door. Leaving Remus with the nurse and stumped into the room. Tonks looked as if she had aged a decade in a short period of time.

Moody enervated Tonks and watched as her eyes shot open. "Moody?" she asked looking quite confused. "Are you dead?" She reached out and felt his arm. "Not dead." Tears leaked from her eyes and she let out a sob. "Remus is… is dead."

Holding her hand Moody shushed her saying, "No he isn't. You're both alive and – well, alive should be enough."

Tonks sat up in bed immediately and called, "Remus?"

Her voice caused a commotion in the hall which was Remus falling out of his wheelchair in an attempt to stand without checking his footing. The nurse let out a small scream of surprise as the tall man lumbered past her and into the room. It was as if the man hadn't been savaged by werewolves that night and hadn't been nearly out of his mind.

"Nymphadora!" he cried with tears of joy replacing those of sorrow.

Moody let to two have some room as they made their way towards one another. Tonks was out of bed and tripped over the chair next to her bed. Remus caught her and rejoiced that she was indeed a solid being. "I thought you were-"

"Dead," she finished for him.

"Let's get the two of you out of here before someone else tries to kill you," Moody said from the doorway. Tonks slipped her shoes on and grabbed her belongings from a bag in the corner of the room. "Thank you for your help," Moody said after casting a confunding charm on the nurse. She nodded at them as they passed with a vague smile on her face.

"Do you think they'll go back to our place?" Remus asked Moody once they were back in the street.

"They might now they know they can get it. Is there anywhere you can stay?" he asked hoping he wouldn't be the one they turned to.

"My parents have a spare bedroom," Tonks provided. "We could kip there."

"You'll need to add security before coming back," Moody said gruffly. "Secret keeper at least."

The sun was rising by the time they were back at Remus and Tonks' small house. Packing was not difficult as most of their possessions were just recently unpacked. Before leaving, Remus stopped Moody. "I can't thank you enough for everything. You saved us tonight," he said shaking the auror's hand. Before Moody could shrug it off as nothing, Remus continued, "I'd be honored if you were witness to our wedding. This morning even."

Remus exchanged a look with Tonks that said they were in agreement on this. Moody faltered for a moment. "I don't see why not," was his way of agreeing. Tonks' hug was enough gratitude for the act to be worth his time. "I might even know a pub that could do it for you," Moody added. "Been there during a few weddings – they're quite an interruption to good drinking."

"Let's at least give Mum and Dad the opportunity to go," Tonks said wanting to keep the peace with her mum who had mixed feelings on Remus.

They agreed to be at the pub Moody suggested at 5 that evening. Andromeda and Ted reacted as well as could be expected to the news that their daughter had been attacked in her home and was getting married that evening. Perhaps it was the shock of the news or finally accepting there was no changing her mind, but Andromeda and Ted were both there for the ceremony.

To say it was a small wedding would be a generous description of their wedding. Both were wearing clothes they'd wear any day – Remus looked like the Hogwarts professor he once was and Tonks looked to be on her way to a rock concert. After their vows and a brief round of hugs from their three guests, Remus and Tonks enjoyed a dance together.

"It won't always be like this," Remus promised looking around the less than desirable location for their nuptials.

"This is perfect," Tonks said kissing her husband softly.

Running his hand through her bright pink hair, he leaned in and said, "We have all the time in the world."

fin

A/N:

I started these stories in May 2007 – before Deathly Hallows was released. My hope for Remus and Tonks was that they had suffered enough in their love life that they'd grow old together quite happily. When I read Deathly Hallows and saw the footnote mentioning their deaths, I was still working on this story. I haven't changed the direction of this story from its original inception. Instead of the happy, leaving into the sunset ending, this is a more ironic and cold feeling than I hoped for. I hope you've enjoyed reading this! I'll be trying to think of my next novel idea early next year.