"HELP!"

Tonks and Molly looked up from where they had been washing dishes in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmuald Place. Dinner had finished hours ago and they had elected to have a sit down before starting in on the mammoth pile of Black china piled in the sink.

Sharing a quick glance, they both bolted from the room and up the stairs to the front hallway. There, staggering through the door and leaning on the walls, was the group that had been sent on a mission two days ago. Most of the Order members appeared only exhausted and drained, but Tonks could see Bill Weasley hunched over on the carpet clutching his side and Kingsley was carrying someone wrapped in a cloak.

After allowing Molly to rush to her eldest son, she sprinted across the hall to the swaying Kingsley. The Auror paled at the sight of her and carefully shifted his burden. A single curl escaped and was startlingly recognizable against the dark fabric of the cloak. Brown hair speckled with gray. Tonks looked up at Kingsley through already tear-filled eyes.

"Is he?'

Although the older man looked as if he would collapse in on himself, he shook his head feebly and followed her down to the kitchen where he collapsed in a chair. Tonks ripped her eyes from the cloak and glanced at him. Receiving a nod, she peeled back the heavy wrap.

A wave of brown and gray streaked hair covered half his face, and blood dried on his cheeks and nose, but the eyes were unmistakably Remus Lupin's.

And yet, they weren't.

The usually clear amber was slightly clouded, and Remus' gaze was unfocused and un-blinking. Gingerly, Tonks brushed a finger over his forehead, trying not to flinch as her hand was covered with sticky red blood. Remus' hand shot upwards and grasped her wrist painfully. Kingsley covered his face with one large shaky hand and shook his head. "It's alright Remus, it's just Tonks."

Tonks' eyes widened as he quickly let go and struggled to sit up, a faint pink tinge creeping up the back of his neck. Kingsley and Tonks both pushed him back down into Kingsley's lap, the black man's voice was as shaky as his hands, but still held the same calming effect. "Sit down Lupin. You'll break your neck."

Remus' flush deepened as he reached out a hand. It hit Tonks shoulder, then her neck, and finally landed on her face. She blinked in confusion and shot Remus a look, wishing he would shut his eyes, if only for a moment. Why wasn't he blinking? "What are you doing Remus?'

The hand pulled away and returned to the werewolf's lap. Kingsley gently stood up and placed Remus on the chair. "I'll- I'll go find Poppy, Lupin." Remus nodded and the larger man limped from the room, the heavy wooden door snapping shut behind him with a dull echoing thud. Pushing the cloak from around his shoulders, Remus stood, and groped the air until he found the sink and began to splash a liberal amount of water over his face.

"I must look a mess."

"Remus-"

"No, Nymphadora let me explain. You-You need to know."

"Remus not right now, you're weak! You need rest, come on, I'll get you a book from the library and you can wait for Poppy upstairs!" Remus winced and turned around, his eyes still clouded and unfocused and water dripping from his nose and chin. "Tonks n-no. L-look at me, Nymph! Can't you see? Don't you understand?"

Fear curled around her heart. What was he talking about? Why was he looking at her like that? "What don't I see Remus?" He made his way over to her, tripping around the coffee table and landing on the floor with a small thump. Shaking his head, Remus brought his knees up to his chest. "There was an accident, Nymph. Death Eaters. I'm blind."

Tonks choked on her reply and stared at the fire across the room. "I'm sorry Remus…. What? Must have slipped off there. It was funny actually, I could've sworn you said that you. T-that you…." She didn't want to believe it. How could she? But the clouded gaze was still there; blank and devoid of any sparkle it once held, forcing her to believe him. It felt as if a small elephant was sitting on her chest, forcing all the breath and thoughts from her body and all she could focus on was the man curled up on the floor in front of her.

Getting up, she kneeled down next to Remus, blind, and grabbed his hands. "Come on, Remus. You need to rest; I'll go get you a book from the library and –"

"Nym-"

"And I'll read it to you."

A/N: And now I'll thank my Beta's Kel, Jess, and Tayz. huggles I owe them so much. The title I credited to Tayz, and means 'blind love' in Latin. This is just the prologue, but I don't know when the next chapter will be up. Review, make poor Remus happy!

Disclaimer: Not mine. Hers. points at JK