"Dora? What-what are you doing?" she heard a voice yell. The voice she clearly recognized, as it was the one that comforted her, loved her, and saved her many times over again.
"Remus." she breathed.
Then suddenly realized how cold the rain was. She shivered. Remus caught up to her and threw her robe on top of her shivering body.
She always found the rain a beautiful thing. It had gotten even more beautiful when Remus proposed in the rain, and they'd danced in celebration. Maybe that's why she's recklessly run into it. It was a comfort to her., instead of a burden.
"For such a smart witch, you can be quite the idiot sometimes, my love." she heard him laugh.
"Shush," Dora replied shakily.
"What's wrong?"
Her eyes widened in realization, "Oh God."
Dora raced back into the house, her husband on her heels. Her heart was racing wildly, her breath quick. She was shaking, not only from the chill of the rain: She darted through the well lit living room and into the nursery. She was such a terrible mother. How could she manage to nearly forget her son. Sure, she was upset and depressed, but that was no excuse.
Teddy laid soundly in his crib, sleeping peacefully. Dora nearly had a heart attack. Teddy seemed to sense his parents' presence and yawned. Or what the two of them assumed was a yawn. As her heart settled down in relief, her anxieties breached.
Dora broke down crying, "I can't do this!" she cried, furious tears streaming down her face, "I'm a horrible mother!" She glanced at Remus, then noticed his bruised face, cut arms, and somewhat slashed clothing, "And a terrible wife! I didn't even notice..."
"Dora, it's fine. You're wonderful." he embraced her quietly, nuzzling in her hair, which became duller by the moment.
"I hate feeling useless." she muttered childishly, but it was absolutely true, "What even happened?"
"Snatchers. I'll tell you later. For now, let's make sure Teddy's sleeping before we head to bed ourselves."
They glanced at their son once more, who was snoring soundly. They raised an eyebrow, suspicious as to whether or not he'd wake up. Dora felt Remus nearly collapse next to her. She was only barely holding him up.
"Oh Merlin." she spoke, breaking the silence, "Remus?"
A groan answered her. She attempted, as much as she could, to drag him to the bedroom. Dora cursed a few times as she stumbled over her own two left feet. Her husband found the energy to lay on the bed, breathing heavily.
"Remus, what in the world happened?" she insisted, not caring for the moment if she wore him out.
"Snatchers. Maybe a few Death Eaters. Had to duel. Ran all the way here. Tripped and fell in the forest a lot. Love you." The explanation wasn't clear, but that last but made her feel slightly more relieved. She most likely wasn't going to lose her husband.
Dora slowly began to help Remus bandage and heal the bruises and cuts. She apologized every time he winced. But he only looked at her, his eyes twinkling with love. Remus sat up, then leaned in to close the space between them. The gentle kiss seemed to last for only a few moments, but neither of them really wanted to pull away.
"Thank you." he whispered, a smile clear as day on his face. He brushed a lock of pink hair behind her ear when it had fallen into her face.
"Did Harry agree to be Teddy's godfather?" she asked, nearly forgetting why her husband had left in the first place.
"Surprisingly, yes."
"Why exactly surprisingly." she asked, narrowing her eyes, "Remus..."
He looked away sheepishly. She sighed and crossed her arms, sitting up straight. Dora yawned.
"Tomorrow." Remus answered, "Sleep now. You seem overly exhausted for someone who's been at home all day." he joking added.
"Babies are a lot of work."
"You're right as always. Rest, love."
She yawned, and nodded to tell him that she agreed. She leaned over to kiss him lazily. That night, they slept, her head resting on his chest. Remus ran his fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes, falling asleep in her husband's warm embrace.
The next morning, she woke up, their bedroom bathed in delicate colorful lights, like flames. She looked around worriedly for a second, her heart pounding, but then saw Remus sitting up in bed and waving his wand, making the little fires dance.
It was all so beautiful.
Her husband must've noticed her staring, because he then smiled and spoke, "I never got to thank you."
"For what?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Everything." Remus simply answered, "You're amazing and I didn't really give you anything in return."
"You don't have to. I know that you can't give me material possessions. What does it matter?"
He seemed unable to come up with an answer. Dora smiled, hugging him gently. They sat there, happy in a warm embrace.
"I never told you about what happened. That night I left. Please forgive me." she heard him whisper, so softly she almost didn't hear it.
As much as she loved him, what he did wasn't completely okay. And she was finding it rather hard to forgive. Angry words were uttered that night. Unforgivable things were said. Tears of pain and fury were shed. But she nodded wordlessly nonetheless. She might not forgive him wholeheartedly, but she could accept his apology.
He slowly and quietly told her the story of him going to 12 Grimmauld Place once last time, to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione. And how he'd never felt angrier. At Harry for lashing out. At himself for leaving her. Dora listened patiently, nodded to show that he still had her attention.
She watched as Remus looked down at his hands, he was shaking as tears threatened to spill over. Then moved on to how he felt every full moon. How he loathed himself. How painful everything was. How James, Sirius, and Peter had helped him with full moons now everything was harder with them. How guilty he'd felt about marrying her because she'd never be accepted by society only because of him.
She'd never seen him break like that. Dora grabbed his wrists, then pulled him closer to her, enveloping her husband as much as she could into a hug.
"I wouldn't have been able to live with myself, Dora." he whispered, crying, "Teddy's and your happiness means the world to me. I'd never forgive myself if I was the one who ruined it."
Hey what's up everyone??? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story. Question of the day, what do you think of my jar painting?
Thanks to everyone for voting and commenting.
LOVE YOU ALL,
Abby