Heyyyy guys. I've been going crazy with posting new fics lately, simply because ideas have popped into my head and I must write them down. Well, right now, I am rereading PoA and have become almost completely obsessed with Remus Lupin. It's sad, really. But this idea popped into my head, and I thought I would write it. I do not own anything Harry Potter related.

Hope you guys enjoy! Feel free to leave a good review or constructive criticism.

Ch. 1

Remus John Lupin had always been a hardworking, caring man. That is, until he met her. It all started on October 31, 1991. It had been exactly ten years since his three best friends had been taken away from him. His friend James Potter had been killed by the Dark Lord, trying to protect his wife and child from danger. As far as he knew, his other friend, Peter Pettigrew, was dead. And Sirius Black, who he thought was one of his best friends, had betrayed Lily and James Potter to the Dark Lord. At least, that was the story that he had been told. Of the four Marauders, Remus was the only one left.

He slowly walked into the small, dilapidated building that the Order of the Phoenix was currently using for business. They were supposedly having a meeting tonight, and for some reason, no one else had arrived yet. He made his way over to the cabinets that lined the wall and searched until he found a bottle of red wine. He grabbed a glass and poured himself a cup, and he quietly sipped his drink while he waited. After that glass, he had two more. Ever since October 31, 1981, he had been having problems with keeping his drinking under control.

After waiting for almost thirty minutes, the door finally opened, and Albus Dumbledore walked in, accompanied by Mad-Eye Moody and Minerva McGonagall. "Well, Remus, I'm surprised to see you here," Mad-Eye growled, limping over to sit next to him. "I didn't think you were planning on showing up on the nine-year anniversary."

The truth was, Remus didn't plan on showing up, but he would rather be discussing plans to take down Voldemort and his followers than moping around his house wondering what could've been. Instead of telling Mad-Eye this, he just gulped down his fourth glass of wine.

"Alright, we're just waiting on a few more people, and then we'll start," Dumbledore announced. His deep voice was enough to make everyone in the room remain silent.

A few of the older members showed up, including Kingsley Shacklebolt, with his burly stature and all-knowing gaze. When he walked in, he was accompanied by four other people, three young men and a young woman. One of the men was looking around like he was lost, another looked absolutely amazed, and the other was talking business with Dumbledore. They all looked like they could be brothers, with their dark hair, pale skin, and brown eyes.

And then there was the young woman. She was a pretty one, that was for sure. Even Remus, who had never looked at a single girl in all his life, could see that. She looked to be about 17 years old, with dark, mysterious eyes and pale skin. Her hair was brown and curly with purple highlights, and she had a twisted, prideful smirk and pointed nose. She wore a dark black skirt and purple jacket, along with a green charm necklace and black boots. Remus didn't look twice at her, though. What was there to look at? She was only a child.

He examined the three young men as well, who were now all talking to Arthur Weasley. He assumed that they must all be new recruits for the Order of the Phoenix.

"As you can see by now, I hope," Dumbledore started as he walked into the center of the room. Everyone was immediately silenced just by his voice once again. "We have new recruits. They all have just now completed their seven years of education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They were all very promising students, and I know they'll be just as promising as Order members. They're all training to be Aurors as well." He smiled, but no one could really tell under his white, bushy beard. "This young man here is Heinrich Ehrlichmann. He is German, and he can speak both German and English. I'm sure that could come in handy." He gestured to the shortest man that was there, the one that looked lost. "And this one here is Alfred Charleston. He by far made the best grades in his class, I think." Remus guessed that the last one was the business-like one. They all looked so much alike that he couldn't tell the difference. "And this one is Kadir Rushka. He's part Indian, so that could come in handy as well."

Remus felt a pair of eyes on him, and he felt a chill run down his back. That only happened when Mad-Eye looked at him, with his mechanic eye attached to his face. Just the thought of that eye swiveling around and looking at him gave him the shivers. But it wasn't Mad-Eye that was looking at him. It was the young woman with the weird eyes.

"This one here is Nymphadora Tonks. She's a Metamorphmagus."

The woman's hair turned into a bright, vivid red color that matched the color of her cheeks. "It's…it's Tonks. Not Nymphadora. That's a terrible name."

Dumbledore smiled a little and patted her on the shoulder. "Of course. Tonks, everyone. Don't call her Nymphadora."

Tonks looked around the room, her eyes turning to a sharp, gray color, like she was confused about something. She smiled and waved at everyone as they started to greet her, and then her eyes landed on Remus again. She frowned, like he was the last person on the planet that she wanted to see. Her hair turned to a light, mousy brown color, and she looked away.

"Since all of you fine young people have decided to become Aurors, I'm giving you one personal trainer to spend a couple of weeks with. Now, all they're going to do is help you get acquainted with battle techniques, potions, and charms. I'll be putting you with some of my best men," Dumbledore explained.

Remus didn't think this applied to him. After all, he wasn't exactly considered an Auror, even though he did lots of work that Aurors did. He knew that they would probably be assigned to someone such as Arthur Weasley or Mad-Eye. They were great at what they did. And even if he did get chosen to take care of one of the kids, when would he have any time to help them? He had others things that he needed to do.

"Alastor," Dumbledore began, pointing to the German boy, "You can work with Heinrich. Kingsley, why don't you take Alfred? And…Arthur. You can take Kadir. It'll only be for a couple of weeks." He paused and glanced around the room, his light blue eyes sweeping over each face looking back at him. "Oh, and Remus? Do you mind helping Tonks out?"

Remus's head shot up, and he looked at Dumbledore with pleading eyes. Did he really have to do something like this? He wasn't even an Auror. What help could he be to someone that wanted to become an Auror? Why couldn't someone like Snape do it? He was incredible when it came to potions and defense.

And besides, there was that one small detail that everyone seemed to overlook when it came to Remus. Did they not understand that every month at the full moon, he became a monster? He could hurt someone very seriously. That is the exact reason why Remus never let himself get close to anyone, especially a girl. And with the way this girl was looking at him right now, he didn't know what to expect.

"Hi," she said, walking over to him. She smiled broadly and held her hand out to shake his, but she ended up tripping over one of her big, black boots and almost falling. She caught herself just before she could go down. And this girl expected to be an Auror?

"Hi," Remus said, not making eye contact with her. He ran a hand through his graying hair, and he went to get another glass of wine.

Tonks followed right on his heels, as if she thought that because he was helping her, she had to go wherever he went all the time. She leaned over his shoulder and watched as he poured the red liquid into the cup, and he slowly looked at her, wondering what she was doing.

"You've had too much tonight," she told him, placing her hand on his. "Don't you think that's enough?"

Remus eyed her carefully. She was only seventeen. He didn't have to listen to her. "I'll be fine," he murmured, sipping down his fifth glass. He started to walk toward the box that he was sitting on before, but he stumbled a little.

Tonks smirked, like she knew something that he didn't. "Well, look who's stumbling around. You've definitely had too much. Do you expect to get home safely tonight?"

Remus looked a little angry then, but he wasn't normally someone to get upset about anything like that. "You should be worried about yourself. You don't have to be drunk to stumble all over the place."

Tonks frowned and looked down at the ground. "Well, I've always been like that."

Remus's face softened, and he suddenly felt bad for insulting her. After all, she was only a young girl, and she didn't do any harm to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay!" She was bright and cheery now, like he hadn't even said anything to her that upset her. "So I'm thinking we can meet somewhere tomorrow and work on some things. Does that sound okay?"

"That's fine," Remus grumbled as he shoved the bottle of wine back in the cabinet. "I'm free all day. We can meet here." He glanced out the window nervously, and when he saw the moon starting to rise in the pale evening sky, he scowled. "Well, I think I need to get going." He waved a little at Tonks, and then he hurried as fast as he could out the door. No one asked any questions.

Remus wandered down the street, hoping that no one would see him. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he knew that the transformation was about to begin. He had to get home, and fast. He peered around, just to double check that no one was around, and then he Apparated.

He ended up in front of his small shanty outside of Godric's Hollow. He could feel the sharp pain pulsing through his veins, and he raised his hands up to look at them. They were slowly turning into pointed, furry, clawed feet. His body was becoming covered in fur as well, and his clothes seemed like they were shrinking. His legs were growing longer, and he could feel fangs forming in his mouth. He let out a howl of pain, and fell to all four feet. He had been putting up with this transformation every month since he was eight years old. It wasn't like it was anything new. But it still caused him great pain all the time, and he wished that he or anyone else in the world would not have to go through it ever again. But as everyone knew, there was no cure.

He could feel all of his human instincts starting to melt away. He couldn't even see straight at the moment. He shook his head and let out a breath, trying to clear his vision, but his whole head felt cloudy. It wasn't the first time he had been intoxicated while he was in his monstrous state. But why did it matter? It wasn't slowing him down any. He was still a werewolf, and he was still hungry for human meat. He lost all sense of control, unable to stay in one place for too long. He needed something to eat.

He bounded through Godric's Hollow, sniffing and snorting the ground, trying to pick up any scent. There was none. He stood up on two feet and smelled the air, and when no scent met his nostrils, he reached out and scratched the tree in front of him, leaving long, narrow scars on the trunk. And when he couldn't find someone to attack, he resorted to scratching himself, howling in anguish and trying to run away from the danger he was bringing to himself. He ran and sniffed and scratched for hours into the night, until the sun started to rise and he transformed into his old self.