A/N: Dum dum dummm...the adventure continues! Told you I wouldn't keep you waiting long. :) I'm glad some people appreciated the break there, and for those who just wanted more, well, here it is!

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The next morning Tonks takes her seat at the back of Practical Defence as usual, anxious to find out what's so wrong that it's made Remus act so strangely.

It's not a good sign that both Moody and Umbridge are waiting at the front of the room, as well as a Wizard she's never seen before who's wearing a jumper with a cat on it.

Remus, leaning against his desk with his fingers folded together like on the first day, greets the class with a resigned solemnity.

"My dear students," he speaks quietly, resigned but with great dignity. "It brings me great sadness to announce that due to circumstances beyond my control, I am no longer permitted to teach you."

A shocked gasp runs across the room. A few people shake their heads in disbelief. Tonks thinks her heart may have stopped beating. Remus' eyes flicker ever so briefly to hers before he continues.

"Believe me, I would not be leaving if I had any choice in the matter. I do not like to leave you in the middle of the work we have been tackling together all year, and I shall very much miss being your teacher," Remus continues.

"Then why? What is it, sir?" someone shouts out. "Why do you have to leave?"

Taking the interruption as her queue, Umbridge steps forward coughing that stupid little cough again.

"What Mr. Lupin means to say," she addresses the class with a sickening sugary grin, "Is that the Ministry have discovered that he is an imposter! A dangerous Dark Creature posing as a teacher."

That can't be true, Tonks thinks. Remus wouldn't lie to them, not the Remus she knows (and, well, loves). She can't breathe.

"Mr Lupin," Umbridge continues, relishing her moment of triumph, "Is a werewolf."

Another shocked gasp runs through the class, along with whispers of "No!" and even an "I told you!"

"Is it true, sir?" Darren asks from Tonks' row. "You're not, are you? She's making it up!"

Every student in the room holds their breath as they wait for Remus to confirm or deny the accusation.

"It's true, Darren," Remus answers softly. His gazed is fixed blankly at the back of the room.

Tonks is shocked and momentarily disbelieving before so many things about Remus fall very suddenly into place—the monthly absences, the scars, the mysteriousness—that she can't help but accept it must be true.

She doesn't know what to think because all her brain can register is that this is Remus. He can't possibly be something bad, even if he is a…werewolf. The more times she acknowledges it to herself, the more Tonks thinks she should have guessed all along.

Remus turns to Umbridge, clenching his fists in his attempt to remain polite and calm.

"Thank you, Dolores, for delivering the news so bluntly. I had a feeling you wouldn't let me leave without trying to terrify my students out of their wits."

Remus turns back to the class. Most of them are speechless; a few of the girls have started crying.

"I apologise that this must come as a shock to you. I didn't intend to deceive anyone; I revealed my legal status (Tonks notices his detached choice of words) to Alastor when he hired me, and he advised me it was unnecessary to burden young Aurors with the knowledge."

"Quite right too," Moody grumbles from his position by the door. "It doesn't count a jot toward how good of a teacher you are, and you were by far the best I could find for them."

As people begin to digest the information, a mild outrage is forming. Most seem to agree with Moody.

"He's right!" shouts Elias Rutherford, "You're the best teacher I've ever had Professor Lupin! Not just for defence, for anything, ever!"

"Thank you Elias," Remus looks genuinely touched.

"Is that why they're firing you, professor? The werewolf thing?" Nadine asks through a flood of tears.

Remus nods, reaching into his pocket. He pulls out his hankerchief and hesitantly offers it to Nadine, as though expecting her to throw it back at him.

She bursts into fresh floods of tears at the gesture, seizing the hankerchief and blowing her nose vigorously. Remus looks incredulous. A sympathetic reaction was obviously the last thing he expected. His eyebrows raise up into his hair as she blows her nose with no visible repulsion, only weepiness at his departure.

"That's ridiculous!" Marvin pipes up. He and Byron Hollings are practically on their feet at the injustice.

"That's right!" adds Yillium in a rare display of passion, "It'd be more dangerous to the country NOT to have you teach us!"

"Hear hear!" Moody agrees enthusiastically, looking uncharacteristically impressed with the young cadets.

There are a handful of people quite appalled at the support for Lupin given his revelation, edging their desks a little further away and looking around for others who agree with them, but they are in the minority. Tonks is touched, though not surprised, that most of Remus' students are behind him. She knows all too well he has a way of winning people over.

"Thank you, sincerely, for your kind comments," Remus looks very emotional. "You have no idea how much they mean to me."

"Then stay, sir!" Serina sobs, holding onto Clarence and Nadine who are crying too.

"I'd rather not make a fuss," Remus says quietly. Already resigned, but still maintaining great dignity. "Some things in life are unavoidable. I'm sure you will be in capable hands."

Remus reassures everyone that he cares for them all and will miss them, that he wishes them all the very best for their exams in a few months, and their careers and lives, whatever becomes of them. But Tonks notices he avoids looking at her. His eyes dart past her quickly before she can meet them.

She thinks about last night, how he said she might think of him differently, and wonders if maybe he CAN'T look at her because he fears he would see hatred or disgust now that she knows what he is.

It bothers her how little he knows her after all this time if he really thinks that would be her reaction. He must have come up against some awful people to be so distrusting of those he cares about. She practically glares at him with the effort of willing him to look at her. Gryffindors are supposed to be brave, but he's avoiding her completely.

Maybe he's worried that she'll react particularly badly because they spent a lot of time alone together and she trusted him with personal stories. They even touched a few times (Tonks remembers them vividly) not even counting every time her caught her. Everything he said last night suddenly makes sense, and Tonks' heart goes out to the poor man.

She is aware that she should be somewhat horrified that she has an enormous crush-and-maybe-more on a werewolf, but all she can think is that what she learned about werewolves as a kid was a load of bollocks because Remus is nothing like any of those things.

Even as she wrestles with the idea of knowing a werewolf, caring about a werewolf in that way, she still can't think of him as anything but Remus.

Especially when he's there in front of her, so sad and so real. He's not a case study werewolf, he's the person she's spent almost all of her time with these past few months and loved every minute of it. If he was as vicious and vile and unscrupulous as werewolves were reported to be, wouldn't he have shown his true colours when it was just the two of them? Bitten her to shreds or something? He can't have been saving her for a special snack or he'd have done something last night knowing it was his last time alone with her.

She's glad to see most people are reacting similarly to her. Though Tonks wonders how some of those girls are going to handle bloody Dark Wizards if they can't even keep it together and stop crying like helpless wusses.

"You are all fine young Witches and Wizards," Remus tries to comfort them, "And it has been my pleasure to spend the past few months in your inspiring company. Please don't think you won't be missed."

Most people now are either tearing up or getting angry. The girls in the front row are positively bawling.

Umbridge, becoming increasingly ticked off by their displays of affection, clears her throat,

"Oh, don't think I'll stop here Lupin," she says lightly and with great venom.

"I'm working on a new piece of anti-werewolf legislature that looks to be passed within the year. I'll make it so you never find work again. Filth like you really shouldn't be allowed to mix with normal Wizarding society."

"Toad!" someone shouts and Moody grunts angrily in agreement.

"What's that Alastor?" Umbridge simpers, and Moody has the sense to mumble something unintelligible.

"Need I remind you that Lupin threatened me," Dolores anounces dramatically, as if she hadn't been facing him off with just as much ferocity.

"He's unsafe," she insists, but no one is listening.

Everyone crowds around respectfully and waits for Remus' last words. Remus deals with the situation with great dignity.

"I regret the unpleasant nature of my departure," he says, giving sympathetic smiles to the girls who are sobbing in the front row. Apparently his being a werewolf doesn't matter to them, or their crushes, any more than it does to Tonks.

"It has been my great honour to teach you all. I could not be more proud of the Witches and Wizards you've become," he finishes sincerely.

Remus smiles one last time, sadly, glancing across the sea of faces but skimming over Tonks though she is desperately willing him to look at her.

He picks up his old shoddy briefcase and, head down, goes for the door.

"Three cheers for Remus Lupin, the best professor we've ever had!" Yillium shouts urgently. It's almost unnerving to see the laid back boy so passionate.

Everyone joins in with the hip hip hooray. Even those who took the news of him being a werewolf badly can't argue that he's been an excellent teacher.

The cheers erupt into furious applause and Remus exits to a standing ovation. He looks profoundly touched, and puts his hand to his heart, nodding gratefully as he ducks out through the doorframe without a fuss.

Everyone begins to settle down once Remus has left. The few girls still sniffling quiet down when Umbridge hands them tissues with a sharp look, and the boys stop their cheering as Mad-Eye begins talking, waving forward their new professor. It's the idiot in the cat jumper.

Tonks doesn't even hear his name. She is staring at the door Remus just walked out of. She can't believe he is gone. That could be the last time she'll ever see him. And he didn't even look at her.

It takes her less than a second to make up her mind.

Moody is doing his introduction, not looking at all pleased about it, and Umbridge is clapping her evil little hands as the new teacher with the stupid cat jumper steps forward when Tonks springs up from her chair, hearing it clatter to the floor as she's already halfway out the door. She runs after Remus as fast as she can.

"Remus!" she shouts from behind him, seeing him turn the corner at the end of the hallway. Her boots are thumping impossibly loud in the old echoey hallway, but he must not hear her because he keeps going.

She's never run so fast in her life, completely forgetting about apparition, and getting a terrible stitch from shouting while sprinting. If he gets to the elevators before she reaches him, she might lose track of him. Tonks shouts again, louder,

"REMUS!" with all her might. He stops just in front of the elevators, turning around as she skids to a stop.

He looks surprised to see her running after him, and still won't quite meet her eye.

She trips into him with the momentum of stopping, and he just barely puts his hands out to steady her; not willing to let her fall but reluctant to touch her. She grabs his hand urgently, only realizing after the fact it's the first time she's held it. It's a lot bigger than hers and fits against it warmly.

"I don't care." She says, breathing hard, her other hand gripping her stitch. Remus' head jerks up to look at her finally.

"I don't bloody care!" She repeats, now that he can see she means it.

"Did you really think I would?" she's almost angry and offended that he'd think so little of her after all they'd shared.

"If that's all you were worried about, you needn't have bothered," she squeezes his hand hard to emphasise her point, practically shaking it.

"I still enjoyed our time together too and you meaning a lot to me is still very mutual and…"

She is cut off by Remus gathering her up in a fiercely tight hug. Her mouth hangs open, sentence half finished, in surprise as she delights in being in his arms for the second time in two days.

His mouth finds her ear, still holding her tightly to him.

"I was terrified," he murmurs in a quiet voice that is achingly vulnerable.

"I thought you wouldn't want to know me." He breathes out roughly and it sounds like he is stopping himself from crying.

"I wouldn't have blamed you," he adds softly.

He curls around her to bury his face in her neck in spite of himself. She feels him breathe her in and is thankful he's holding her tight so she doesn't fall over when her knees go weak at the intimacy of it.

It makes her ache to see Remus so vulnerable, but at the same time feels wonderful that he is letting her in at last. That he truly does care about her. A lot, it seems. Even though it's a sad occasion, something in Tonks soars with joy.

So many things about Remus make sense with this new information: his guardedness, the restraint, the sad resigned quality beneath his smiles.

He must not dare to hope for much and Tonks, feeling suddenly years older and more powerful as this brilliant man breathes her in like a life-force, is determined to give him everything he's worth.

She strokes the back of Remus' neck soothingly as he breathes heavily into her neck. His lips form "Oh, Dora," over and over against her skin, as if he's charming the words to stay there. She is so focused now on taking care of him that she hardly registers how wildly intimate this is for them. How something has been let loose in Remus now. And he is definitely not her teacher any more.

"Nymphadora!" a gruff voice calls.

At least it's Moody, not Umbridge, who's come after her.

She pulls away from Remus reluctantly, just enough to turn and see Mad-Eye.

When Remus removes his head from the place where her neck joins her shoulder, she sees his eyes are a little moist at the corners. He is openly staring at her in wonder, like he still can't quite believe she really doesn't care.

Cel would laugh that Dragon-Tooth-earring-lover-Tonks was getting swoony over a bloke who cried on her shoulder.

Tonks is struck with the bizarre thought that at least being a werewolf ups Remus' street cred. Even more than a dragon tooth earring, as a matter of fact.

"Don't be silly, girl," Moody clunks toward them. "We're all going to miss Lupin, but that's life. It ain't fair. Now where would we all be if everyone ran out of the room after him, eh?"

Tonks isn't sure about Moody's logic, but his point is clear.

"Back to class with you and be sure you apologise to your new professor," he orders.

"You don't want to get off on the wrong foot. Not when you've done so well with this one."

Tonks is alarmed to see Moody attempt a wink with his good eye. But still he's forcibly removing her from Remus and strong-arming her back down the hallway she came from.

"Until next time, Lupin," Moody nods respectfully to Remus, who is still recovering from being thoroughly unused to the experience of being very pleasantly surprised by someone.

"Bloody strong you are, Mad-Eye," Tonks struggles against his firm grasp. There's no getting away from him.

"Remus, I'll write to you!" she calls urgently and sees him nod, still dazed, and smile and wave as Moody drags her around the corner.

Remus is definitely looking her in the eye this time.

A/N: Lupinari - yes, what a coincidence that this was about to happen right as you mentioned Lycanthropy in a review. I wanted to comment back and say "Wow! Well, actually..." but I didn't want to tip everyone else off! and I can't PM you on here. :) Also, thanks again anonymous reviewers and the ones I wasn't able to PM reply. I really do appreciate all reviews! It's very nice of you to take the time to leave a comment. :)