Written for:
Monthly Het-tastic Drabbleathon Competition (Prompt #88, glad)
The Duct Tape Competition: Pink

Tonks had known from the moment she'd climbed through the passageway into the Room of Requirement that she was not going to survive. It was a conviction originating from somewhere deep within her. There was no rhyme or reason for her belief in her own imminent demise, but sure she was.

She supposed it was because her most pressing goal was not to ensure her own survival or safety, rather to ascertain that of her husband and son. She placed their lives above her own, and it was the truest form of love she had ever known.

Tonks fought with a frantic urgency, her mind full of one thought and one thought only: need to find Remus. She found him soon enough, and after that, the fight became almost fun. They were in perfect synchrony, one person (one heart) in two separate bodies. She was keenly aware of his presence behind her just as she knew he was of hers.

Tonks shot a quick Stunning Spell, disposing of her latest opponent, and was ready to meet the next when she heard a sound that never failed to send chills of fear and hatred running down her spine. The hollow, eerie laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange echoed through the halls, infecting many of the fighters with its madness.

Her aunt gleefully made a beeline for her, paying no heed to the spells sent her way. They were not important.

As she looked into the eyes of her most hated relative, glinting with ruthless menace, Tonks thought of all the people taken at her hand, all the abbreviated lives she had left behind. She thought of Sirius, laughing until the end, and deserving of a life far more gentle than the one he was given. She thought of Frank and Alice Longbottom, alive and not yet living. She thought of Remus, who lived for her, and needed to see her live through this. The duel begun

"What do we have here? My little Mudblood niece. How's the baby? I'll have fun killing him when I'm through with you."

"He's doing great, Auntie. Pity that after tonight, you won't be."

The duel was fierce and intense and exhausting. Tonks had not fought this hard in a long time. To keep herself focused, she reminded herself of Remus, the way he'd smile with a love that was meant only for her, the way he'd reach out and steady her before she even realised she was going to fall, the way he'd fall asleep at night with one hand holding a book and one hand holding hers.

They'd had a rough journey, the two of them, and giving up had sometimes seemed the easiest, and the best for them. They never had, and Tonks was glad.

If all her moments lived had led to this one, where she fought on a battlefield, as a warrior, a daughter, a wife and a mother at once, she could safely say that every moment of pain and doubt had been worth it for the happier ones she remembered most.

It was a split-second lapse in concentration that ended her life.

She heard Remus call her name in a voice of desperate anguish; saw his face and Teddy's flash before her eyes, and then she knew no more.

Thanks for reading! :)