Candeh – One-shot.
Summary – One-shot. This is just a quick story of how Tonks joined the Order, met Remus Lupin and then found out about his uh, ahem…condition.
Of Meetings and Wolves
Kingsley, Sirius and Mad-Eye stood in front of Tonks, all smiling. "Welcome to the Order, cousin," Sirius said, then grabbed her head and pulled her into him, messing up her pink hair. She pulled away.
"You look sane," she said, playfully. "I always thought you were a bit insane myself…even before Azkaban, but the whole criminal look works for you. It really does." Sirius choked laughter and Mad-Eye gave them both a look.
"No time for family reunions," he said. "Nymphadora, it's time to meet the Order. They're all so excited to be having a new addition, but we need to hurry. The members are at the Black's house waiting for us."
Tonks scuffed. "Alright, but call me Tonks."
"No, she actually loves Nymphadora," Sirius joked.
"It's Tonks, Sirius," Tonks said, her hair turning pink. "And he likes to be called ass-hole so be sure and call him that, alright?" Kingsley held back laughter, but motioned for them to come forward and the four of them jumped into the fireplace.
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place," Mad-Eye said sternly and instantly, Tonks felt herself whirl around in a patch of ashes and found herself in the familiar Black home. She looked around, smiling, remembering old memories of when she and Sirius were young.
"This place hasn't changed," she muttered to Sirius, who was still smiling.
"I just can't believe it. My cousin is a part of the Order. Wow," he said. "Someone as clumsy as you, I mean – Ow!" Tonks punched him hard in the arm and followed Kingsley and Mad-Eye into a quiet room where a few people sat, sipping tea around another fireplace, in chairs.
She smiled. They all stood.
"This is Nymphadora Tonks," Mad-Eye said to the people in the room. "Newest member of the Order. She promises to be a good asset to our team and from the looks of it, she seems promising." Tonks smiled wider.
"She's a bit of a loon everyone, but I'm sure she'll do just fine, eh, Nymph?" Sirius said from behind her. She gave him a poke in the ribs, but he only laughed, then strode over to a chair next to a sickly looking man.
He was pale and too skinny for his own good. His brown hair was straight and about ear lobe length and hung in his face. He tried to smile, but it only looked sad and worn and Tonks felt a stab of sympathy rush through her. He was wearing shabby clothes, fingerless gloves and an overly big scarf that hung off his frail body. She saw Sirius hit him hard in the chest and he recoiled, giving him a warning glance.
"This is Remus Lupin," Sirius said. "He's a bit of a loon, like yourself. We've been friends since school." Remus smiled mildly and stood, walking over to Tonks and extended his hand. Where had she heard that name before…?
"Nice to meet you," he said.
Tonks took his hand and met his kind, yellow eyes. He was handsome, that was for sure. "You yourself – oh, uh, I mean, you nice to meet, too. I mean, nice to meet you too." Remus smiled wider.
"Told you she was a loon," Sirius said.
"Don't make me beat your ass like I used to Black," Tonks hissed.
"Well," Kingsley said, stepping in. "Let's get started."
Tonks moaned, "Why does this meeting have to be so early?" she rubbed her eyes. "Couldn't it be at night?" she hadn't meant for it to come out sounding like a complaint, but the members of the Order looked at her for a long time, then nervously at each other. "Sorry," Tonks said. "This is fine, I'm just tired. Sorry."
Mad-Eye walked over to Remus, wrapping an arm around him and Sirius. "No, no, it's okay. We usually have our meetings a bit later in the day, but tonight's not a good night for Remus. He has to…be somewhere tonight."
Remus seemed obviously uncomfortable. "Sorry," he said, scratching the back of his neck. " I – "
"Don't be sorry," Tonks said. "You look awful, you should lay down, are you alright?" Sirius laughed.
"He's alright, Nymph. He'll be just a bit off today and tomorrow and then he'll be a-ok in the morning, trust me," he said. Remus tried to smile. Sirius put a hand gently on Remus' shoulder and Remus winced, but then smiled knowingly at him and walked away. Tonks stood, waiting for an explanation.
"What was that all about?" she said when the man had gone and sat in the corner, sipping wearily at his tea and rubbing his temples.
"He gets sick a lot," Sirius said simply. "But he's a great guy, don't you worry your pretty little head, cos." Sirius walked away towards McGonagall and Mad-Eye cleared his throat just as a tall man walked in. Tonks grimaced. Severus Snape stepped in front of her and she remembered her days at Hogwarts and loathing every inch of him.
He had a big hooked nose and greasy black hair, shoulder length. He strode over to her, sneering wildly. "I see we have a new addition," he said, almost hissing. "I hope she will do here as well as she did in my Potions class."
Tonks didn't know whether or not insulting someone that was a part of the Order on the first day would be wise, so she forced an almost painful smile. "Thank you," she choked out. Snape smirked.
"Let's just hope you don't slip up, now," he said.
"I think she'll be just fine," said a voice from behind them. The shabby man called Remus Lupin stepped forward, covering patches that were sewn into his pants with one hand and resting another at his side. "She seems brilliant."
Snape sneered, "Well, the Order trusts everyone nowadays, don't they? I mean, they trust you, isn't that right?" Remus went noticeably pale and Snape snorted in satisfaction. Tonks looked questioningly at Remus, but he quickly regained himself and smiled calmly.
"Yes, and I am very grateful," he said. He turned to Tonks, "She looks like she could be very useful. Sirius tells me you're a Metamorphagus, is that true?" Tonks blushed. His handsome face was looking at her and she knew that she must be going red.
"Yes," she said. She scrunched up her face and instantly, her pink hair turned blue, then green, then black and blonde and white. Remus smiled and Snape scowled.
"What a great talent," Snape hissed, clearly sarcastically.
"I'll bet you had fun with Sirius doing that," Remus joked. Tonks lighted, laughing. Snape glared at Remus, who only smiled weakly back at him. The three of them were awkwardly silent for a moment, until Kingsley led them to another room. Snape smiled grimly at the painting of Mrs. Black that hung above them as they past.
"FILTH!" she shouted down at them. "BLOOD TRAITORS AND HALF BREEDS IN THE HOUSE OF BLACK!" Sirius snorted.
"Shut up, Mom, you're fucking crazy," he hissed. Snape beamed.
"Half-breeds?" he said. "Whatever does she mean by that, eh?" Tonks bit her lip, wondering the same thing. She looked up at Remus, thinking he might have an answer, but he just continued to smile nervously and followed the rest of them into the room.
"So you've known Sirius for a long time?" Tonks said.
Remus jumped at her voice and she blushed, "Oh, yea, I have."
"From what I hear, Sirius was quite the troublemaker," Tonks laughed. Sirius jumped in.
"That I was," he said. "But Remus here was the good boy of us, weren't you, Remmy?" He slapped Remus on the back and Remus stumbled forward, smiling.
Tonks smiled, too. "I like good boys."
"You should," Sirius said. "She always brings home these outrageous boyfriends. What was your last one? In a band or something? Addicted to cocaine? Shooting the dragon?" Tonks' hair turned red. "Well, Remus here was a prefect. We never let him live that one down, did we?"
Remus shook his head.
"You were a prefect?" Tonks said. "Aw." Remus winced, and then smiled wider.
"I always get the same reaction," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yea, everyone's embarrassed for you." Sirius said, laughing. Remus laughed too, and Tonks joined in slowly. "Yup, Remus is a prefect for you. Never going against school rules without lecturing us first. Then of course, we had to force him sometimes."
Tonks smiled at Remus, thinking of him being carried off by Sirius and his friends or being forced to knock over the candy trolley on the Hogwarts Expression. She giggled, covering her mouth, accidentally knocking over a cup of coffee behind her. "Oh!"
Remus caught her before she fell over with it, but he coffee hit the floor and he slipped on it, causing the two of them to fall on the floor, Remus on top of her. "Sorry," he said, lifting himself off and helping her up. "Sorry, oh, no, are you hurt?"
"How can she be hurt, Remus, you weight like two pounds," Sirius said. Tonks used her wand to clean up the mess and turned to Remus.
"I'm fine, thanks for the catch," she said.
"Now," Mad-Eye said once they all settled. "We're here to welcome our newest member of the Order." There were claps among the room and Tonks beamed, catching Remus' eye, who gave her a genuine smile. She felt herself blush, looking away quickly. "As for other businesses, Harry Potter starts his fourth year of school at Hogwarts this year." She heard Snape scoff.
She looked around the room. It must have been around ten now and she felt her mind float elsewhere until Sirius jabbed her sharply in the ribs. "Get up, cos. The meeting's over."
Tonks jolted up. "Oh no, did I fall asleep."
"Just a little. No one noticed, except for Remus here," he cocked his head and Remus who was biting his lip and casting nervous looks outside towards the sun. She got up and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry I fell asleep. I can never make a good first impression," she said.
"Neither can I," Remus said, smiling. "But, everyone's over it, really." Tonks laughed nervously and Sirius raised an eyebrow at her girlish giggling. He smiled to himself.
"So, Remus," he said with a playful expression. "How's the love life, eh?"
Remus went pale again. "Ugh, Sirius, can we not do this tonight?"
"Oh come on, are you seriously telling me that you don't have a girl clinging on you? No? Really? What about you Nymph? No guy? No? How weird." He looked back and forth between Tonks and Remus and their eyes went big.
"Sirius!" Tonks swat him on the back of the head, and her cousin gave a small laugh. "Would you shut up for about ten minutes?" she looked apologetically at Remus, who was smiling however faintly. "I'm sorry about him."
"No, I'm used to it, he hasn't changed," he said.
"Well, you two agree that I'm annoying, now why don't you two go on upstairs and get a room, huh?" Sirius shrugged. Tonks saw Remus blush and she knew she was doing it too. She was going to pound his face in.
"I am going to make you wish you were back in Azkaban," she muttered, getting ready to jump on top of him, but Remus' sudden cry of pain brought everyone in the room to a stop.
Remus stood, shaking, looking around nervously at everyone. They all pounced into action, noticing that the sky was beginning to get hazier – it was around four in the afternoon. He took a step back, making his way to the door, obviously trying to cover up moans of pain through his body.
"Remus?" Sirius called.
"Sirius, I'm fine. I just need to…go now, alright? Really, don't mind me, I'm perfectly fine," he said, but he closed his eyes as if he were being beaten and Tonks saw the look of embarrassment and horror that filled his face.
"Want me to take you there?" Sirius asked, walking forward. Tonks saw Remus look at her and then shake his head at Sirius.
"No, it's fine, I think Snape has this one," he choked out, looking pleadingly at Snape who seemed disgusted, but nodded anyway, reaching across to a table and lifting a goblet of bubbling liquid.
McGonagall came forward, "Remus, dear, do you know where to go?"
"Yes, Minerva," Remus said, smiling and touching her appreciatively on the shoulder. He turned to Sirius, "Thanks again, mate. I won't touch a thing."
"Oh, go ahead and rip the place up," Sirius said, smiling. Remus bit his lip, then looked desperately at the potion Snape was carrying in his hands.
"Well, drink it or I'm not going," Snape spat in the most ungrateful tone.
"I'm going to drink it, Severus," Remus said, his voice a bit testy now and everyone in the room broke out in whispers. Tonks leaned in to Sirius.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Remus gets a little testy when he's sick," Sirius said, not taking his eyes off Remus, who took the goblet from Snape's hands and looked into it, pursing his lips together.
"Well, Snape deserved it," Tonks whispered back.
"Remus never gets testy," Sirius said and Tonks' stomach dropped.
McGonagall stepped back a bit and the members of the Order watched as Remus swallowed the potion, then looked as if he was going to puke all over the floor, but regained himself and shook.
"I hate that potion," he said, laughing nervously. A few people joined in on the laughter, a quirky mixture of nervous, paranoid noises that Tonks couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Silence enveloped them.
Mad-Eye tried to take the attention off of the sick man and stepped in front of him. "Well, dinner is upstairs, folks. C'mon let's go." He turned to Remus. "We'll see you in a bit then, Remus."
"I'm not Remus," Remus almost yelled, his eyes flashing wildly. Sirius sighed, stepping forward.
"Alright, Moony, let's go," he turned to Snape. "I got him from here."
"Be my guest," Snape snorted, stepping aside. Tonks stepped back, and watched as Sirius lead Remus from the room, closing the door behind them. She looked around wildly for an explanation, but the occupants of the room remained quiet.
"Poor Remus," she heard McGonagall say and saw Kingsley nod in agreement. They all piled upstairs for dinner, around a large table, where only moments later, Sirius joined them again, smiling as if nothing had happened. The rest of the Order went along too, almost as if forgetting that the kind, handsome, quiet man hadn't just had his outburst.
Tonks picked at her food, and Sirius' voice made her jump.
"So, how do you like Remmy?" Sirius said, a mischievous smile on his face. "Cute, isn't he?"
Tonks shifted. "He is cute." She said. "Where'd he go?"
"Oh," Sirius said, his smile fading. "He's…downstairs."
"Where?"
"The basement." Tonks opened her mouth to say something, but Sirius said it first, "Don't go down there, Nymph – he'll be fine tomorrow, alright? Trust me, he's never hurt anybody in his entire life and is actually a little ashamed of his, ahem, condition, and he's very polite. You guys would make a great couple."
"Sirius!" Tonks said, slapping him in the arm.
"You're saying you don't like him?" Sirius said.
"I never said that. I mean, we just met. I mean," Tonks flushed. "Sirius, you are trouble." Sirius smiled. She sighed. "So where exactly did he go off to?"
Sirius obviously wanted to drop the topic, but answered anyway, "Told you, the basement."
Tonks sighed, "I know, but why?"
"He's feeling ill."
"So he can't go upstairs in a bed?"
"No, he needs to be in the basement tonight. He has a room if you want me to show it to you for…future times," he winked at her and Tonks blushed, looking around wildly to see if anyone heard.
"Show me later," she muttered. "As for now, where's the bathroom?"
"Second door downstairs to the right," Sirius said. Tonks excused herself and got up, descending down the stairs, the voices of the Order talking above her slowly becoming quieter.
She looked around, the dark hall surrounding her and extended her wand. "Lumos," she whispered. She pointed it out in front of her, searching the hall, and then stopped, hearing moaning and screaming from a door just a few feet in front of her. She froze.
"Remus?" she said. There was no reply, just moans of pains and screams of what seemed to be torture. He sounded as though he were being choked, gasping for air and then she heard pounding against the walls as if he were struggling. She took a step closer, then found herself running towards the door. "Remus, are you okay? I – "
She let a gasp escape her throat. Remus was standing, chained to the wall before her, in only his boxers. He didn't notice her come in, and continued to scream, but then saw the light from her wand and stared at her, humiliated.
"Oh, no, Nymphadora, please get out," he said. Another flow of pain burst through him and he let out a loud scream, then fell to his knees, the moonlight casting it's reflection onto the floor of the room.
Tonks stepped forward, coming over to him, desperately trying to undo the chains he had on his ankles and wrists. "Remus! Oh my gosh, oh shit, let me get you out."
"No! Nymphadora, don't, please!" Remus said, burying his face in his hands and trying to edge away from her.
"Sirius!" Tonks called. "Sirius! Remus needs help hurry!"
"No – Nymphadora – please – don't – I – ARUGH!"
"Oh, Remus!" She pointed her wand at him, trying desperately to remember any pain-easing charms but nothing was working. He was in the floor now, covering his face with his hands, begging her to leave. "I'm not leaving Remus."
"Please, leave, please, please, leave," he said.
She opened her mouth to talk, but she heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. Mad-Eye, Kingsley, Sirius, Snape and McGonagall stared down at her, their mouths open wide with shock.
"Nymphadora!" Sirius yelled, running towards her and started dragging her away. Tonks kicked.
"Look at him Sirius!" she yelled, but her voice was caught in her throat when she looked at the handsome man. He was shaking violently, his teeth beginning to sharpen and his once kind yellow eyes turn feral. She gasped, letting herself go numb, and then the door once again locked Remus in, shutting him away from the other members who were leading her away.
"What's wrong with him?" Tonks was almost yelling.
"Nymph, he's a werewolf," Sirius said.
"What?" Tonks said, now yelling.
"He's not going to hurt you, Tonks, listen to me. He's not like the other werewolves he's…good," he shook his head at how ridiculous this sounded and bit his lip. "He's – "
Tonks sat down, panting heavily. "Poor Remus." The members of the Order sighed in relief. Sirius sat down next to her and they listened to Remus moaning on the other side, then, howl.
"Let's go upstairs, now, okay?" Kingsley said soothingly. Tonks nodded, lifting herself up, looking back at the door only once. Snape kicked the door once, then turned around sharply.
"Give him a dog bowl and leash," he muttered to himself.
Tonks and Sirius marched up the stairs, Tonks still dazed at what just happened. She suddenly did not have to use the bathroom anymore. "When was he bitten?" she said quietly.
"He was five," Sirius said softly. "But he's not dangerous…however much he thinks he is. In fact, he's rather embarrassed of it, which is why we all let him tell you himself – "
"This is probably not the way he wanted me to find out," Tonks said, ashamed. Her heart fell for the man downstairs and she bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. "He's such a kind man. He doesn't deserve this."
"We know," Sirius said. "He's too hard on himself. He hates himself because of it…very self-conscious. He probably would have thought it was a trick if it wasn't Dumbledore who had invited him to teach as DADA."
Tonks lowered her head. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault." Sirius started to say, but then stopped. "Actually, it is." He jokingly punched her arm. "Just talk to him. He is really understanding. He'll be alright. Just make sure you talk to him when he's out of wolf-mode and back into Remus mode."
- - - - - -
Tonks crept downstairs early the next morning. She heard Remus transform back to normal and now she was listening on the other side of the door to his heavy panting. She waited to hear rattling chains and peeked through the keyhole to see if he had dressed. He had on his ripped, patched jeans, a plain white shirt, that big scarf and the fingerless gloves he had been wearing before. He looked extremely shabby, and Tonks thanked Sirius in her head for charming the clothes, even though she secretly wished he hadn't.
She opened the door slightly, then closed it, and Remus' head jerked up. He tried to stand, but he clearly couldn't and fell back to the floor. "Nymphadora – " he fell on his chin and closed his eyes, tasting blood. Tonks stepped forward.
"Stay still," Tonks said, taking out a wet cloth from behind her. She dabbed at his forehead and he pulled back. She looked down. "I'm so sorry about last night. I shouldn't have come in here and disturbed you. I didn't know."
Remus looked on the verge of tears. He covered his face with his hands and sat, his knees crunched tightly to his body. "I should be the one who is sorry. I should have told you sooner. Please, don't hate me."
Tonks looked as if she'd been hit. "I would never hate you."
Remus sighed, looking down at his chains, humiliated. "Don't be embarrassed, Remus," Tonks said. "It's okay." She tried to smile, but he did not return it.
"It's not okay, Nymphadora," he said. "I'm a werewolf. I'm lucky to even be a part of the Order."
"Don't you dare talk bad about yourself. You are a wonderful person!"
"We just met," Remus said in a low voice.
"So what?" Tonks yelled. "You're intelligent, Sirius says that you were the best teacher Hogwarts ever had and that I can ask any student who went there and I believe him. You're smart, nice, kind, funny, sweet, good, polite, moral, handsome – " the last word was caught in her throat and Remus went red.
Tonks' mind snapped. She had heard of him before. He was the werewolf in the newspapers, the one Umbridge had been talking about, the one Snape had told everyone about. She swallowed. "I was told not to judge a book by its cover," Tonks continued. "But I'm going to because you look insanely lovable."
Remus sunk down behind the wall and Tonks let out her wand, the chains letting him go. She helped him up, surprised at how light he was, and blushed at how close they were. He stumbled, clutching onto her clothes for support, and then apologized hurriedly.
"S-sorry, sorry," he said.
"Forget it," Tonks said, brushing it off. They walked to the door, where Remus paused, biting his lip. "We can wait a while before we go up if you want to," she suggested, thinking that Remus might not want to cause a fuss. He nodded, then slumped to the floor. She sat next to him, brushing the hair out of his face.
"Thank you," he said hoarsely. Tonks smiled warmly. Remus felt a jolt through him again, and Tonks saw his eye flicker, but his smile remained and he still sat, unmoving. "You have the most beautiful eyes," he said.
Tonks blushed. Remus recoiled.
"Sorry," he said quickly. "You'll have to forgive me. I'm not myself…right now."
Tonks giggled. "No, it's okay. You have fantastic eyes, yourself."
"They're…yellow," Remus said, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Tonks said, putting a hand on his cheek and smiling kindly. "They're gold and so are you, Remus Lupin."