Bubblegum Pink and Chocolate Tweed (Prequel to DCMN)

Chapter 5

AN: I know, I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. Well...not really. My poor Remus though...anyways, read on.

-Alyssa xx

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TONKS

There are a lot of words that can be used to describe Nymphadora Tonks. One that doesn't describe her is patient. She can wait for Order meetings, she can definitely wait for paperwork, but she can't wait for her friends.

What was taking Remus so long? What did Poppy want in the first place?

Any longer now and she was barging in. She might not be dating Remus, but that didn't mean she was okay with him being alone for long periods of time with other women, especially unmarried ones.

Standing up, she placed her wand next to her bracelet on the table. "I'm going to see what they're up to," she said to Sirius.

He rolled his eyes at her. "You just want to spy on them."

She grimaced but didn't deny it. She also didn't add the fact that if anything fishy was going on, she wouldn't just be spying but causing some serious bodily harm to Poppy. She shook her head to dismiss the thought. Whatever else one could call Poppy, she was professional. Tonks was merely checking to prove that.

Stepping into the threshold of the Hospital Wing where she had seen the pair go, she hesitated. What was she going to say?

She shook her head. Not only was she overreacting, but since when did she need a plan? She was winging this.

"Hello Poppy, Remus? Need any-" she stopped mid-sentence as she took in the gruesome sight in front of her.

There, slumped against the windowsill, was a battered bloody Remus. His eyes were closed and blood trickled from his lip.

She lunged over to him, fingers fumbling for a pulse. Tonks only remembered to breathe when she felt the faint thudding against her fingertips.

Leaping to her feet as she surveyed the room, she let her Auror instincts kick in. She looked for anyone hiding and found no one. She was alone with Remus.

"Sirius?" Her voice was a choked whisper as her throat clogged with tears. There were many possible scenarios playing through her mind, each as unlikely as the next. She knew that wasn't important right now. Someone needed to contact Dumbledore and a search party to find the missing Madam Pomfrey needed to form. First and foremost, however, would be helping Remus.

Sirius ambled into the Wing until he saw his second cousin attempting to lift his limp best friend. Taking a deep breath he asked, "what happened?"

She didn't bother turning around because she knew he would see the tears streaming down her face. "I wish I knew."

Crouching down beside Tonks, Sirius' eyes widened as he took in her darkened hair and red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Wiping away a stray teardrop, he smiled softly at her.

"He's alive. We'll make him okay again. You'll see, alright?" He looked at her expectantly and slowly she nodded.

She had never known him to be is kind and understanding. "Okay. Standing up, she impatiently wiped the tears from her eyes. So, we need to contact Dumbledore. We need a search party for Pomfrey, and first and foremost we need to get Remus medical attention."

Sirius nodded curtly, silently relieved that the broken Tonks was replaced by the fearless Auror Tonks. Even if it was only a facade, it was better than tears and sadness.

Pulling out her wand and Yaxley's* that Kingsley had given him before they left, Sirius rose and stood at the window facing the astronomy tower. Closing his eyes to focus, he flashed back to the day he and James and Remus were talking about them becoming animagi.

Out of Yaxley's wand came his Patronus, a silvery mangy mutt that looked rather like his animagus form. He sent a thought-message to his dog who he had decided long ago to call Snuffles II. The dog sprinted out of the hospital wing and was on its way to McGonagall.

"I sent my Patronus to Dumbledore," SIrius said, then remembered, "we need to get Hermione and Ron. Also, we need to find Fred and George."

Tonks nodded from where she was wrapping Remus' arm and shoulder in some gauze she had found in one of the drawers of Pomfrey's desk. "The twins will be with Dumbledore. As for Hermione and Ron, go get them now please." 

Sirius was already halfway out the door by the time she finished speaking. "On it. I'll be right back." Before he left he tossed her wand to her. 

As soon as Sirius was gone, Tonks felt her resolve crumble. She tried not to look at Remus' gaunt face, pallid in complexion and ice cold. She reminded herself that he was still breathing and could be saved. Shaking her head, she scolded herself. Pull it together! You can't help him if you're having a bloody panic attack!

Tonks then heard footsteps coming from the doorway. There was Sirius flanked by Ron, Hermione, and behind them were the twins. In the back were Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore. She breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't alone with this anymore.

Clearing her throat she spoke as the others came to a halt beside her and Remus' body. "We need to get him to Saint Mungo's. Now." The last word was nearly a growl.

McGonagall nodded. "Luckily it is possible to disapparate in the Hospital Wing," she murmured.

The group disapparated with a crack as everyone held onto someone. Tonks cradled Remus' body. It was dangerous to apparate when someone was injured, but they didn't have a choice. He needed to go to the hospital.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Remus drifted in a state of in-between. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't exactly alive. The muggles had a term that the wizarding world had adopted. Coma. 

Tonks had thought that if anything terrible happened to a loved one, she would either be sobbing or murdering their attacker. Remus' attacker was unknown as they had taken Poppy as well, and she had already done her fair share of sobbing.

Now all she felt was numb. She knew she would feel other emotions later. But right now as the adrenaline wore off, all she felt was nothing. She wasn't content but she wasn't exactly panicking. She knew she should be but she just felt so...detached. 

It could have had something to do with the fact that it was somewhere between one and three in the morning and she was seated in an uncomfortable plastic hospital chair. She was holding his hand and staring down at his face despite the fact it was too dark to see. If it wasn't for the beeping heart monitor beside her, she wouldn't have known he was alive.

Earlier, when they had first brought him in, he was almost awake. He had mumbled many things, a lot lost in his bloody lip. What Tonks was sure of was that she heard him say her name.

It hadn't been more than a whisper, but it was unmistakable. She had clung to it like she now clung to his hand. Being an Auror, she knew about death and risks. She had read about it, written essays even. But the chance of death was almost unfathomable until one came into direct contact with it.

The Saint Mungo's doctor had told her exactly what she had suspected. Remus had been put under the Cruciatus curse for a lengthy amount of time. She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. Why did the man who had to endure more pain monthly than anyone else have to be the one that suffered here too. She supposed she was having survivor's guilt. It was like everything inside her was asking, why him and not me?

She didn't have a particularly good answer to her question, either.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: Well. Jeez this story took a rather dark turn. Eh, it had to though.

Comment what you think of the whole Bellatrix/Pomfrey situation. What do you think happened?

Please vote and comment my Alyssals (That's what I'm calling you all now!)

-Alyssa xx